The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Kano State has warned supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) against “wild celebrations” following Wednesday’s Gubernatorial Election Petition Tribunal verdict.
The call was made by Sector Commander Ibrahim Sallau-Abdullahi in a statement signed and handed to newsmen by the FRSC Public Relations Officer, Labaran Abdullahi, in Kano.
“Supporters should avoid wild celebrations during and after the tribunal’s decision, especially with vehicles or causing any kind of obstruction on the roads.”
“Wild celebrations that violate traffic rules and regulations and result in highway obstruction and road traffic crashes will not be permitted, as perpetrators will face the full wrath of the law,” he warned.
The corps stated that authorities and other security agencies will not tolerate reckless driving, route violations, driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, indiscriminate parking, overloading, overspeeding, or driving by minors during and after the tribunal’s decision.
He reminded drivers to follow all traffic laws and regulations.
According to NAN, the tribunal is set to rule on the APC’s appeal, which challenges Gov. Abba Yusuf of the NNPP’s victory in the March 18 election.
On Monday, the tribunal announced the judgment date in a notification addressed to the lawyers representing the parties in the case. The announcement comes just weeks after attorneys presented their closing arguments on behalf of their clients on August 21.
The NNPP received 1,019,602 votes, defeating the APC and its candidate, Nasir Gawuna, who received 890,705 votes, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). As a result, the NNPP candidate won by a margin of 128,897 votes.
Dissatisfied, the APC petitioned the tribunal to contest the electoral body’s results.
The petition has gotten a lot of attention both inside and beyond the state, partly because it is a proxy fight between two political heavyweights in the state whose political tentacles extend all the way to the national arena.
The petitioner requested that the NNPP Governorship candidate’s election be declared null and void since the Governor was not a full and registered member of the NNPP prior to the election.
APC also requested that the tribunal declare the APC candidate the winner since she received the most votes, or that the tribunal declare the gubernatorial election inconclusive because the margin of lead is less than the number of votes cancelled.
The respondents have asked the tribunal to dismiss the All Progressives Congress (APC) appeal for lack of merit.
NNPP claimed that all of APC’s arguments are inept, null and invalid, and fundamentally flawed.
The NNPP contended that the APC’s petition should be declared void in the first instance because no competent court has jurisdiction to rule on a petition in which the major contender (Governorship candidate) was not joined.