SUPREME COURT AFFIRMED GANDUJE’S 2019 KANO VICTORY BUT YUSUF BOUNCES BACK IN 2023 WITH NNPP WIN

In a remarkable political reversal, Abba Kabir Yusuf has been elected Governor of Kano State in the 2023 elections, just years after the Supreme Court upheld his defeat in the contentious 2019 governorship race. Yusuf’s journey from a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate to a victor on the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) platform underscores a significant shift in Kano’s political landscape, heavily influenced by his ally Rabiu Kwankwaso and the Kwankwasiyya movement.

The 2019 Kano governorship election was initially declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The commission cited that the margin between the top two candidates was less than the total cancelled votes. Yusuf, then the PDP candidate, had polled 1,014,353 votes ahead of the incumbent Abdullahi Ganduje of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who secured 953,522 votes, which left a margin of 26,655 votes. A total of 100,873 votes were cancelled across the state.

This necessitated a supplementary election in 28 affected local government areas. Following that exercise, Ganduje was declared the winner after he polled 45,876 votes in the supplementary poll, while Yusuf garnered 10,239 votes. The consolidated results showed Ganduje with a total of 1,033,695 votes and Yusuf with 1,024,713 votes. At the time, both Yusuf and his prominent supporter Kwankwaso were members of the PDP.

Yusuf challenged the outcome in court, but in January 2020, the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal and affirmed Ganduje’s victory. Reflecting on that period, Yusuf was quoted saying, “We accepted the Supreme Court ruling as law-abiding citizens, but we remained steadfast in our belief that justice for the people of Kano would ultimately prevail through democratic means.”

The political dynamics changed ahead of the 2023 polls. Yusuf, now aligned with the NNPP, secured the party’s ticket. Kwankwaso and his political movement, Kwankwasiyya, played a pivotal role in mobilizing support. “The Kwankwasiyya movement is the backbone of this victory,” Kwankwaso stated. “Our collective commitment to revitalizing Kano resonated with the electorate, leading to this successful outcome.”

Yusuf’s victory in the 2023 governorship election marks a dramatic comeback, underscoring the enduring influence of Kwankwasiyya politics in Kano State. The results from 2019, including the inconclusive declaration, supplementary election, and subsequent legal battle, provided a critical backdrop for this political resurgence.