Kano: Appeal Court sacks Kwankwaso as Rep member, reinstates Datti

From Godwin Tsa, Abuja

The Abuja division of the Court of Appeal on Monday sacked Musa Ilyasu Kwankwaso of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as a House of Representative member representing the Kura/Madobi/Garun Malam Federal Constituency.

In his place, the appellate court reinstated the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, candidate Yusuf Umar Datti.

In its judgment, the three-judge panel, led by Justice Tunde Oyebamiji Awotoye reversed the judgment of the state National Assembly election petition tribunal and allowed the appeal by Datti.

Justice Awotoye ruled that the tribunal was wrong to have counted the date of the appellant’s resignation on the date of his party’s primary election.

The judge held that Section 77 of the Electoral Act was misapplied and that no court has jurisdiction on the issue of membership of the party.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the NNPP candidate as the winner of the February 25 election.

Dissatisfied, Kwankwaso filed a petition seeking the nullification of Datti’s victory.

In September, the tribunal sacked the NNPP candidate and declared Kwankwaso the winner of the poll on the ground that the NNPP candidate did not resign as a member of staff of the Bayero University Kano (BUK) before contesting his party’s primary election.

Also not satisfied, Datti appealed the verdict of the tribunal.

Delivering judgment on Monday at the appellant court, the three-man panel led by Tunde Oyebamiji held that the tribunal was wrong to have counted the date of the appellant’s resignation from the date of his party’s primary election.

The panel added that Section 77 of the Electoral Act was misapplied, noting that the issue of membership of a political party is an internal affair, which no court has jurisdiction over.