The management of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday over ruled its Kano State office over the pending appeal lodged by Kano State Governor Kabir Abba Yusuf on the recent invalidation of his election by the Governorship Election petition Tribunal.
The Kano office had set tongues wagging across the country earlier in the day with a leaked letter by its legal department withdrawing the commission’s involvement from Yusuf’s appeal.
Suleiman Alkali, Head of Legal department, INEC office, Kano, in the letter addressed to the Secretary of Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, on behalf of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, said: “I have been instructed by the Commission headquarters that INEC as an umpire have no reason to appeal any judgment.
“Consequently, the National Commissioner in charge of Legal Services and National Commissioner in charge of Kano zone are directed that the Appeal be withdrawn and all processes for all Appeals should be forwarded to the Kano Office.”
Many Nigerians who read the letter on X (formerly Twitter) wondered why INEC could be doing that.
However, the National Secretariat of INEC in a statement yesterday disclaimed the letter.
It said the correspondence was unauthorised.
Read Also: We’ve not withdrawn from Kano Gov appeal process, says INEC
The National Commissioner in Charge of Information and Voter Education, Sam Olumekun, said: “The attention of the Commission has been drawn to media reports based on a letter written by the Legal Officer of our Kano State office indicating that the Commission had withdrawn from the appeal process in the ongoing Kano governorship election petition case.
“We wish to state categorically that the letter was not authorised. It has since been withdrawn and the officer reprimanded.
“The public is therefore advised to discountenance the insinuation that the Commission has withdrawn from the case or even worse abandoned the appeal.
“We wish to state categorically that where litigants join INEC in a case, the Commission is under obligation to respond accordingly. We have therefore instructed our lawyers to proceed in line with extant policy of the Commission. The policy has not changed.”
Yusuf has filed a 42-ground of appeal at the Court of Appeal, asking it to quash the tribunal’s judgment which on September 20 declared Nadir Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the March 18 election in the state.