Disgrace As Tribunal Sacks Reps Member Over Certificate Forgery

Disgrace As Tribunal Sacks Reps Member Over Certificate Forgery

The National and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Kano has disqualified Dankawu Idris of the New Nigeria’s People Party (NNPP) for falsifying his secondary school certificate. Mr. Idris, who represented the Kumbotso federal constituency of Kano State, has been removed from the House of Representatives.

Following the verdict delivered on Monday, the tribunal chairperson, I. Chima, declared Mannir Danagundi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the rightful winner of the February 25th election.

The judge ruled that the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) certificate submitted by Mr. Idris was fraudulent.

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Consequently, the tribunal ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a certificate of return to the APC candidate, Mr. Dan-agundi. He had contested Mr. Idris’s election at the tribunal.

This marks the second NNPP legislator to be removed by the election petition tribunal for certificate forgery. In August, the election of Mukhtar Yarima, representing Tarauni Federal Constituency, was nullified over certificate forgery.

By this recent ruling, NNPP has lost three seats in the House of Representatives to the opposition APC in Kano. Two were due to alleged forgery, while the other resulted from the candidate’s failure to resign from his initial place of employment 30 days before the election, as required by the Electoral Act of 2022.

Although none of the disqualified legislators has indicated whether they will contest the tribunal’s ruling in a higher court, as permitted by electoral law, it is expected that they may do so.