…scolds officer over ‘unauthorised’ letter
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said on Saturday that it had neither withdrawn from, nor abandoned the appeal process of the Kano State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal judgment.
By a judgement of September 20, the court had sacked Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, who was the New Nigeria Peoples’ Party (NNPP) candidate in the March 18 election, declaring the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Nasiru Gawuna, as the winner.
But Yusuf vowed to appeal the judgment, which he said was a “misapplication of the law”.
In a statement by Sam Olumekun, its National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, INEC stressed its position after a letter by its state legal officer which it described as “not authorised”.
According to the commission, the correspondence has since been withdrawn and the officer reprimanded.
“We wish to state categorically that where litigants join INEC in a case, the Commission is under obligation to respond accordingly,” it said.
“We have therefore instructed our lawyers to proceed in line with extant policy of the Commission. The policy has not changed.”
