Former Governor of Kano state and sitting Senator Ibrahim Shekarau was earlier decleared the winner of the 2023 Kano Central Senatorial District election under New Nigeria People’s Party,NNPP.
senator Shakarau was in the NNPP and was nominated to vie for the senatorial position under its platform.
However, before the elections, he announced his defection from the NNPP, abandoning his senatorial ambition to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Regardless of this, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) insisted that it still recognised him as the legitimate NNPP candidate, even though the party replaced him with Hanga.
The returning officer of the senatorial district, Professor Tijjani Darma declared him winner of the February 25 poll.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC decleared Shekarau got 456,787 votes to defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Abdulkarim Zaura, who polled 168,677 votes.
Nevertheless, the Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the nomination of Hanga as the NNPP’s authentic candidate.
In a unanimous judgement, Justice Inyang Okoro-led five-member panel of the court faulted INEC’s refusal to replace Shekarau with Hanga after the former left the party for PDP before the election.
Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the lead judgement, written by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, dismissed the INEC appeal.
The court further upheld the two earlier concurrent judgements by the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal, both in Abuja, that affirmed Hanga as the authentic candidate of NNPP.
