Abdulmumin Jibrin,the immediate past Member of the House of Representatives for Bebeji/Kiru Federal Constituency of Kano State, is confident of victory at the rerun election ordered by the Appeal Court sitting in Kaduna.
The Court of Appeal in Kaduna nullified Jibrin’ election, a former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, and ordered fresh elections in the constituency.
The judgement which was delivered by Adejoje Adepoju followed an observation by the court that the final result contained in Form EC (8)E as submitted for the constituency was mutilated.
The Kano State Election Petition Tribunal had in December dismissed a petition by Jibrin’s contender, Aliyu Datti of the People’s Democratic Party.
Reacting to Appeal Court verdict, the former Director-General of Campaign Organizations that produced Yakubu Dogara and Femi Gbajabiamila as Speakers of the House, said his constituents have always stood with him and they would do same and even more whenever the rerun holds.
“As a good Muslim, one who has unflinching belief in the will of Allah, I know fullfully well that all events are within the scope of The Almighty, and this is no exception.
“I remain unshaken in my belief that the people of Kiru/Bebeji who have consistently and repeatedly been freely giving me their mandate will not hesitate in doing so again.
“As we go back for the rerun, I urge my supporters and well-wishers to remain calm. No election is a do or die affair”, he said.
Jibrin however, faulted the Appeal Court ruling as it runs contrary to other precedents of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, hence the prayers before the Court were to nullify the results of the 23rd February, 2019, election in 13 polling units and not the nullification of the entire election.
According to him, of the 13 Polling Units challenged, only one witness, who was not listed on the petitioners’ list of witnesses, and who deposed to being both a member of the All progressives Congress and the People’s Democratic Party member at the same time, gave evidence in respect of all the said 13 polling units.
The lawmaker alleged that the witness neither personally saw nor directly encountered events in the polling units he purported to give evidence about and his team pointed this out in their representations to the Judges and the Tribunal agreed that the petition was without merit.
“The petitioners appealed to the Court of Appeal, and by a decision delivered, the petitioners’ appeal was allowed. Strangely, even though the petitioners’ sole relief as it related to a rerun election before the Tribunal and Court of Appeal was for a nullification of the afore-said 13 polling units, the Court of Appeal, on its own volition nullified the entire election of 23rd February, 2019”, Jibrin added.
