Tinubu Shunned Ganduje’s Pressure to Influence S’Court Judgment

The Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, has hailed President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima for not succumbing to alleged pressure to influence the decision of the Supreme Court in the Kano governorship election.

The Kano governor, in a statement on Sunday by the Director General, Media and Publicity, Government House, Kano, Bature Tofa, alleged that the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress and immediate-past Kano governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, pressured the President to influence the court verdict but Tinubu did not yield to the pressure.

The Supreme Court, on Friday, restored Yusuf’s victory in the March 18, 2023 governorship election, after both the election tribunal and the Court of Appeal had earlier nullified his victory and pronounced Nasiru Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress as the winner of the poll.

The Supreme Court judgment doused the tension that had built in Kano after the sacking of Yusuf by the two lower courts.

In the Sunday statement, Yusuf expressed his satisfaction with Tinubu and Shettima’s steadfastness in the face of alleged pressure to interfere with the apex court’s ruling, despite strong opposition from various quarters.

The Government House spokesman, in his statement, said, “Referring to the alleged efforts by former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje to use the Presidency to sway the Supreme Court’s decision in favour of Gawuna, Yusuf said Tinubu and Shettima’s unwavering stance was a testament to Nigeria being in capable hands.”

Furthermore, Yusuf extended an olive branch to his rival, Gawuna, who lost in the Supreme Court, emphasising the need to focus on building Kano now that the political contest is over.

The statement quoted the governor as saying, “As a true democrat and progressive, I call upon my opponents and their supporters to join me in the endeavor to develop our beloved state of Kano for the betterment of its citizens.”