Gawuna and his party had initially rejected the outcome of the election, insisting that the election should be declared inconclusive.
The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano state, Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, has accepted defeat in the March 18, 2023, governorship election.
He also congratulated the governor-elect, Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) earlier declared Yusuf as the governor-elect after he polled a total of 1,019,602 votes to defeat Gawuna, his closest contender, who polled 890,705 votes.
Gawuna and his party had rejected the outcome of the election, insisting that the election should be declared inconclusive.
They said the number of cancelled votes is more than the margin between the votes polled by the governor-elect and the candidate of APC.
INEC had said the number of people with permanent voter cards (PVCs) in the polling units where results were cancelled is 273,442. Meanwhile, the margin of lead between Yusuf and Gawuna is 128,897.
But Daily Trust reports that a few hours after Yusuf picked up his certificate of return, Gawuna congratulated him.
The governor-elect in his acceptance speech after receiving the certificate of return, called on Gawuna to make true his earlier statement that he would accept the outcome of the election as the will of God.
Responding to the call, Gawuna in an audio message reportedly shared by his Chief Press Secretary, confirmed his earlier statement on the will of God prevailing, saying that he was praying that God would help Yusuf to be a true leader for all, who would be just to all.
Gawuna was quoted as saying, “I want to remind the people of Kano state that earlier during our campaigns, we prayed that if winning the election is the best for us, may Almighty Allah give us, and if it’s not, may He, Almighty give us what is the best for us.
“Therefore, I call on my followers and supporters to accept the destiny that comes to us. For the winner of the election, I pray for him to be a good leader that will practise justice for all. For us, may Almighty Allah guide us to be good followers to our leaders.”