Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Kano state, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna has expressed joy over the favorable verdict by the Kano State Governorship Election Tribunal, which affirmed his victory in the 2023 election.
Gawuna, while speaking at a news conference in Abuja, pledged not to tarnish the confidence reposed in him by the people.
He said, “I want to express my appreciation to my mentor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, for being there for me. I have said it several times for the confidence he has bestowed in me.
“For those who have not known my history with Ganduje, during the merger between parties and the APC came into being and I happened to be part of the merger from the defunct ANPP while they were in PDP and he was the deputy governor then and I had the opportunity of being a Commissioner and I have served under them. Then he was the deputy governor and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso was the governor of Kano State. I have very good relationship with Dr Abdullahi Ganduje.
“In 2015 Allah destined him to be the Governor of Kano State. We were 19 who served in the government of H.E Dr Kwankwaso. Ganduje found me worthy and capable and he selected only me to be in his cabinet. I remain grateful Your Excellency and I am not going to take that for granted. After that, people don’t know that while we were in government there was an opportunity for people to be chosen from Kano and Lagos State as Ministers, Dr Ganduje choose me but then it did not happen and an opportunity came in 2018 when the former deputy governor resigned and without lobbying, Dr Ganduje found me worthy and choose me as his deputy. The day he swore me in he made a statement. He said in his speech that ‘he is my deputy governor today and he is going to be my running mate in 2019…. and he said you are the best candidate for 2023 governorship election.
“We will continue the good work of Dr Ganduje. We are going to be fair to everybody. Kano State is a commercial state, and commerce, education and health are areas we have highlighted in our blueprint during our campaigns and we will continue with what we have said. We won’t take your confidence in me for granted. We will make sure Kano is free of insecurity and other vices. We appreciate the support from the state and beyond”.
On his part, National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Ganduje urged the people to remain calm and that their businesses would flourish.
Speaking at his residence in Abuja, Ganduje who was flanked by Gawuna and a former Governor of the state, Senator Kabir Gaya, urged the people of Kano to remain peaceful.
He said, “Today is a historic day. We thank Allah for providing an enabling environment for the judiciary to deliver fair, transparent judgement in our favour and judgement that is true (reflection of the wishes of the people).
“We thank the judiciary, our party leaders in our state, we thank the business community, the various support groups. We have to commend everybody in Kano state for being patient and continuous prayers for Allah to give us victory.
“We urge them to continue to be peaceful, to continue to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner. We assure the business community that our new government if we come in, by God’s grace, under our able Governor, Dr Yusuf Gawuna, that businesses will flourish in Kano.
“We thank Mr President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who is now in the USA for creating an enabling environment for the judiciary to flourish in Nigeria. We thank members of the press for giving coverage, enlightening us and educating the people”.
