A mammoth crowd on Sunday welcomed Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State back to the North-West state.
Governor Yusuf had been away from the state amid the legal tussle over his position.
The Court of Appeal sacked him as the Kano leader and declared the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Nasiru Gawuna as the winner of the March 2023 poll. But he challenged the development with the Supreme Court reserving judgement on the matter.
On Sunday, a huge crowd poured into the street to welcome Governor Abba back.
Wearing the famous red attire of the Kwankwasiya movement, the supporters chanted solidarity songs to declare their backing for the leader who rode to power under the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP). Some of them carried banners and posters that read “Abba is our Choice” and “Justice for Kano” while accompanying the governor’s motorcade.
The development stalled movement in the area. It took him hours to move from the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport to Sani Abacha Indoor Stadium, Kofar Mata.
On social media platforms, some of the supporters shared videos and images of them welcoming Governor Abba back to the state. “Kano is Red,” an allusion to the colour of the Kwankwasiya movement, was one of the major trends for the day.
Governor Abba was at Sani Abacha Stadium to flag off the training of 2,600 corporate security officers.
His homecoming came weeks after the November 13 Court of Appeal verdict that upheld the judgement of the tribunal. In its ruling, the Appeal Court agreed with the judgement of the tribunal, ruling that the fielding of Abba was in breach of the Electoral Law as he was not qualified to contest that election.
In September, the tribunal nullified the victory of Yusuf, the candidate of the NNPP in the March 18 governorship election. It thus affirmed Gawuna as the duly elected governor of Kano.
