Yusuff, a candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, was declared winner of the March 18, 2023 governorship election in the state beating the All Progressives Congress candidate, Nasir Gawuna.
Unsatisfied, Gawuna petitioned the Governorship Election Tribunal asking the court to annul Yusuff’s victory.
The tribunal set aside Yusuff’s victory after declaring 165,663 of his votes invalid.
It held that the deducted votes were from ballot papers that were neither stamped nor signed.
The governor then approached the appeal court for redress.
The appeal court upheld the tribunal’s decision and faulted the lower court for not disqualifying the governor.
The appellate court said the governor was not properly sponsored by the NNPP, thus violating the provisions of Section 177 (c) of the constitution.
The court declared Gawuna of the APC winner of the election.
However, at the Supreme Court, Justice John Okoro ordered that all the ballot papers from which the appellant votes were deducted should be restored to the governor.
He said the said paper contains the logo of INEC and the coat of arms as prescribed by the provisions of the Electoral Act.
He also held that the issue of party membership is an internal affair of the party.
Yusuff’s final road to victory can be likened to that of a former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike.
Wike, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, was sacked by the Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in 2015 after the candidate of the APC, Dakuku Peterside, petitioned that the poll was marred with irregularities.
The tribunal ruled that another election be conducted within 90 days.
Wike, currently the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, was again unsuccessful in his appeal at the court of appeal.
Before that, Wike had challenged the jurisdiction of the tribunal that sacked him, but it was dismissed for lacking merits.
However, at the apex court, Wike’s victory was affirmed.
The Supreme Court held that both the APC and its candidate failed to prove their case of malpractices and non-compliance as required.
For Both Wike and Abba Yusuff, hope was almost lost when their victory finally came.
At a thanksgiving service after the Supreme Court verdict then, Wike said openly that most of those who were rejoicing with him, including religious and traditional rulers as well as politicians had already lost hope before the victory came.
The same scenario played out in Kano where broom-wielding members of the APC were already waiting to symbolically sweep the feet of Yusuff and his red cap-wearing supporters from the state.
The victory is indeed like Wike, like Yusuff.
