Uncertainty in Kano as NNPP leads APC with over 120,000 votes

There was palpable tension and uncertainty in Kano State at midnight following the announcement of the final local government election results which put the candidate of the NNPP, Abba Kabir Yusuf, in a clear lead.

Daily Trust reports that after the results from the 44 LGAs were announced by the collation officers, Yusuf had polled 1,019,602 of the total votes cast while his closest challenger, Nasir Gawuna, of the APC polled 890,705 leaving a margin of 128,897 in favour of the NNPP candidate.

Of the 44 local governments, NNPP won 30 while APC won 14.

There were concerns that the number of collected Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) in the areas where elections were cancelled could be above the margin of lead between the top two contenders.

Daily Trust reports that there were cancellations of results in all the local government areas except in Tarauni LGA where despite the violence recorded, the election sheets in two of the polling units that witnessed the violence were said to be intact.

The agent of NNPP and the returning officer (RO), Professor Ahmad Doko Ibrahim, engaged in a heated argument when the RO announced that he should be allowed to retire to a calm and secluded place to collate the results and make a decision on the cancelled votes based on the information entered in the Form EC 40G (Incidence Form) from each local government.

The tension around the INEC headquarters and within the city led to a heavy deployment of security operatives in the city and around the collation centre with some of them, occasionally firing warning gunshots in the air.

The leadership of the NNPP along with thousands of their supporters were also keeping vigil on Airport road, the closest area to the cordoned off area.

Its spokesman told Daily Trust that the team of watchers was led by the leader of the party and presidential candidate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and the governorship candidate, Abba Kabir Yusuf.

The NNPP agents and supporters raised concerns that there was a calculated attempt to declare the results inconclusive similar to what happened in the 2019 governorship election. Yusuf, then of the PDP, eventually lost in the rerun against the incumbent governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, despite leading initially.