Governor Abba Yusuf has filed an appeal at the Supreme Court challenging last week’s Court of Appeal verdict that removed him from office in Kano state.

Documents filed on Wednesday revealed Yusuf’s party, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), submitted the appeal which also listed the incumbent governor as a respondent alongside challengers All Progressives Congress (APC) and electoral commission INEC.

The notice of appeal contains 10 grounds seeking to set aside the November 17 appeal judgement. It specifically asks the Supreme Court to uphold only the conclusion on page 67 which set aside the earlier tribunal ruling against Yusuf while awarding N1 million costs to him.

That controversial page has elicited confusion as it seemingly contradicts the rest of the appeal verdict which declared Yusuf was not qualified to contest the election since he was not a registered NNPP member.

The Appeal Court had thus sacked the governor, instead pronouncing opponent Nasir Gawuna of the APC winner of the March poll.

Yusuf rejected the ruling as a “travesty of justice” and in the fresh appeal argued the court wrongly delved into internal party matters regarding his membership status.

No date has yet been scheduled for hearing the challenge at the Supreme Court. Yusuf seeks the apex court to revalidate his victory based on the certified true copy of the appeal judgement.The NNPP governor’s prolonged legal battle to reclaim his position has spotlighted flaws in Nigeria’s

electoral dispute resolution process amidst the landmark 2023 elections.

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