The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) said on Saturday that it has finalized plans to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision to overturn Kano State Governor Kabir Yusuf’s victory.
The governor’s election was overturned by the Appeal Court on Friday, according to Platinum Times, since he was not qualified to run in the March 18 election.
According to the court, Governor Yusuf was not a member of the NNPP at the time of the election.
Speaking about the Appeal Court ruling, Alhaji Abba Ali, the interim national chairman of the NNPP, told media at a news conference in Abuja on Saturday that the ruling that Yusuf was not a member of the party was a sham.
Ali called the verdict a miscarriage of justice, claiming that Yusuf was elected by popular vote in Kano State.
He stated that the party’s lawyers had previously been briefed on the matter.
“Believing in the credibility of the judiciary and its ability to correct any error of judgement by the lower court, our party approached the Court of Appeal and prayed the appellate court to set aside the unjust ruling of the lower court.
“To our greatest shock and consternation, the Court of Appeal on Friday, Nov. 17, delivered a convoluted judgement that was anchored around their erroneous belief that Yusuf was not a member of the NNPP,” he said.
He wondered how Yusuf could have been successfully nominated on the INEC portal if his name was not submitted with the NNPP membership card.