Photo: L-R, Kwankwaso, Datti.
Breaking: Appeal Court sacks Kwankwaso, declares Datti Reps winner
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has sacked Musa Kwankwaso of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and declared Yusuf Datti of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) member-elect for Kura/Madobi/Garun Malam Federal Constituency Election, Kano State.
Delivering judgment on Monday in Abuja, a three-man panel, led by Justice Tunde Awotoye, held that the state election petition tribunal was wrong to have counted the date of the Appellant’s resignation on the date of his party’s primary election.
The Court also held that it has no jurisdiction, and no court for that matter has jurisdiction on the issue of membership of any political party.
According to Court of Appeal, the tribunal erred in its decision earlier by declaring the APC candidate winner of the election, adding that Section 77 of the Electoral Act was misapplied.
The Appeal Court further held that Datti could not convince the tribunal that he was a member of the NNPP, which made him a meddlesome interloper who had no business peeping into the affairs of another political party.
It would be recalled that the Kano election petition tribunal had in a ruling delivered by Justice Azingbe on September 10, 2023, sacked Datti on the ground that he failed to resign from his job as a lecturer at Bayero University, Kano, 30 days before the said election.
Consequently, the tribunal then declared Kwankwaso, a former commissioner in the administration of former Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje in Kano State, as the rightful winner of the poll.
