The Court of Appeal is set to deliver judgement on the appeal filed by Governor Abba Yusuf of the NNPP against the verdict of the lower election tribunal which had nullified his victory at the 18 March election and declared his rival, Nasiru Gawuna of the APC, as the validly elected governor of Kano State.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja will deliver its judgement, today (Friday), on the disputed Kano State governorship election.
Abba Yusuf, the incumbent governor, who had won the governorship election on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), is locked in a fierce legal battle with Nasiru Gawuna of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), over the outcome of the poll.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Mr Yusuf as the winner of the 18 March election with 1,019,602 votes against Mr Gawuna's 890,705 votes.
Mr Yusuf had rode on the popularity of a former governor of the state, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and his political machinery, the Kwankwasiya Movement, to defeat Mr Gawuna of the then ruling APC in the state.
But Mr Gawuna challenged the election outcome at the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.
In a unanimous verdict on 20 September, a three-member panel of the tribunal set aside Mr Yusuf's victory after declaring 165,663 of his votes invalid.
Therefore, the lower tribunal declared Mr Gawuna, who turned out to have the highest number of votes after the deduction from Mr Yusuf's score, as the lawfully elected candidate.
However, the governor appealed against the tribunal's decision at the Court of Appeal, which is set to deliver its decision today.
The Court of Appeal's decision will not be the final, as whoever is aggrieved with the outcome can still appeal to the Supreme Court.
Owing to the tension the case has generated in the densely populated Kano, the authorities of the appellate court moved its panel to Abuja for the hearing and determination of Mr Yusuf's appeal.
As the Court of Appeal delivers its decision on the appeal today, tension is already brewing around the headquarters of the appellate court in Abuja.
PREMIUM TIMES is on the ground to monitor the proceedings from the courtroom and will provide live updates below as the judgement is being delivered.
