The ex-governor of Kano State and current National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, disclosed the strategic approach employed by the party to secure victory against the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) at the Appeal Court last Friday.
According to Ganduje, the NNPP’s eagerness to secure a governorship position in Kano State proved to be its major downfall. He highlighted that the party gave a ticket to the sacked governor without realizing that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had already concluded the acceptance of nomination forms.
He mentioned that the APC effectively utilized this situation in their legal argument, resulting in a successful outcome for the party.
The APC chairman disclosed this while addressing some party supporters yesterday.
Ganduje said: “They were in PDP and when the crisis heated up and they were punched repeatedly they left the party and started groping for a platform. Unfortunately, they ran into a political party symbolizing fruits. They were given tickets because their leader was daydreaming; their leader was ambitious to be the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but he was frightened.
“And because they desperately wanted a governor in Kano State, the party gave them a ticket to contest. But they made a serious blunder because when they joined the party, INEC had closed submission of nomination forms. But they were blind and uneducated. They went into the ring without making careful observation of this.
“They did not know that we laid in wait. We took the file, submitted it to Dr Nasiru Yusuf Gwuna and told him to hold it tight. When we filed a petition at the Kano governorship election tribunal, we told the court that they were not fielded by the party. We told the court that when INEC closed accepting names of candidates, they did not join the party,”
All Nigeria Latest News had reported that the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Friday, nullified the election of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State.