The Government and people of Kano State on Thursday offered special prayers for Governor Abba Yusuf’s victory at the Governorships Election Petitions Tribunal.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that commercial activities were grounded in the city as the residents conducted prayers at the designated areas in the metropolis, including Katsina road, Gwarzo road, Madobi Road/Sharada, Zaria road, Maiduguri road and Hadejia road.
The opposition APC had filed a case at the tribunal challenging the victory of the NNPP candidate as governor of the state.
However, as the tribunal is set to deliver judgment in the governorship election dispute, Kwankwasiyya ideologues expressed fear that they would not get justice, hence the resolve to seek divine intervention.
The prayers, which attracted both male and female followers of the NNPP Presidential Candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiyya movement, were conducted at the major entrances to the ancient city of Kano.
Leading the two raka’at prayer session at the Hadejia Road venue, a chieftain of NNPP in Minjibir Local Government Area, Alhaji Abdullahi Yakubu, appealed to residents to continue to pray to God to safeguard the mandate given to the governor and adequate security in the state.
Yakubu, who described the people of the state as peace loving, expressed the need for collective political efforts in seeking divine intervention against “desperate politicians who want to steal our mandate through the back door”.
At the Zaria road prayer venue, Malam Musa Abdullahi, who led the prayers, said the divine intervention became necessary “because of the desperate moves by the opposition party to come back to power through the back door”.
“We are progressive and law abiding politicians, hence the need to take our matter to God through prayers,” he said.
The state Chairperson of the NNPP Women Group, Hajiya Zuwaira Abubakar, said they were praying against some desperate politicians “who are hellbent in removing Abba Kabir Yusuf as Governor of Kano state.
“We are aware of some people who don’t believe in loosing election are moving to snatch our hard-earned victory of the NNPP government in Kano state.
“So, we are asking Allah to take care of those behind such moves,” he said.
She explained that they would not fold their hands and allow some disgruntled elements to take away what God had given them and which came through a popular mandate.
Also Speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Private Schools, Malam Baba Umar, said the governor’s victory had come to stay, adding that “by the grace of God nobody will take it away from us”.
Also leading the two raka’at prayer session at Gwarzo Road, a chieftain of NNPP in Karaye Local Government Area, Malam Mohammad Isa, prayed for peaceful resolution of the election by the tribunal.
“We have taken our matter to God as we await the judgment of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal,” he said.
At Maiduguri road venue, Malam Musa Abdullahi, accused some desperate politicians in the state of planning to destabilise the polity, hence the need to seek divine intervention for the governor’s victory at the tribunal.
He said the NNPP-led administration had in the last 100 days implemented numerous people oriented projects and programmes that had improved the well-being of the people, irrespective of party affiliations.