Kano state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the March 9 governorship elections, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has unveiled the team of lawyers that will defend him at the Governorship, Nation Assembly and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in the state.
Abba Kabir’s team is led by Chief Asiwaju Awomolo (SAN), former Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Kanu Agabi, Barrister Maliki Kulliya, four other Senior Advocates of Nigeria and 45 others, who had stormed the election petition tribunal and obtained a ruling directing INEC to provide them with relevant election materials on the recently concluded governorship and re-run elections in the state.
Speaking to Blueprint yesterday in Kano through his spokesperson, Bature Dawakin Tofa, Kabir Yusuf said he is contesting the outcome of the governorship elections on the grounds that the first election which took place on the 16th of February was conclusive because all results of the 44 local government areas in the state were received except that of Nassarawa, which was allegedly torn by agents of the state government.
He said he was leading by 26,000 votes before the one of Nassarawa was hijacked, saying all agents of political parties in Nasarawa had copies of the result, explaining that there was no crisis or any form of conflict to warrant the returning officer, Professor Arabi Rizkuwa, declaring the result inconclusive.
The PDP governorship candidate further alleged that the re-run election was hijacked and stage-managed and therefore a charade, saying the run-off should be ignored because he won on first ballot.
Accusing the media of bias in the reportage of the polls, Kabir Yusuf said he was shocked that the day he approached the tribunal with 48 lawyers, prominent politicians and thousands of supporters, most of media houses with representatives in the state decided to give him black out.
“This development is unfortunate because the media are part of those that fought against military dictatorship and entrenched democracy in Nigeria”, he said.
Continuing, he said: “I will by the grace of God pursue my case before the election petition tribunal to the logical conclusion. People should ignore whatever they are reading in the social media about my case”.
