News
Northern Hibiscus honors top business personalities in Kano

Nasiru Yusuf
Northern Hibiscus, an online social platform in Nigeria, in collaboration with Wakanow.com and other partners has honored top business personalities who made great contributions to society in Kano on Saturday.
KANO FOCUS reports that the award, tagged; Mercado Business Icon (MBI) Award, was organized by Hajiya Aisha Falke, founder of the Northern Hibiscus.

Speaking at the event, Mrs Falke said she decided to organize the award programme in order to create synergy and unity among business community in the state.
Another reason, according to Mrs Falke, is to create awareness on business mentorship by mentoring young people in northern Nigeria, on entrepreneurship in order to be self reliant.
She said part of the programme is part of the idea of establishing school of entrepreneurship study in Kano State, where youths would undergo an eight- month programme in order to be self reliant.
“The idea is, this practical entrepreneurship study school will serve as an evenue where youth would learn practical entrepreneurship in order to become self reliant, even during university strike or before they get admission into university. We want these business personalities to support the project. My dream is to see this school come to fruition for poverty to reduce in the North.
“This would reduce poverty in northern Nigeria and encourage wider participation in business. This award is for networking. One network can change your life. That is the essence of this,” she said.
In his remarks, te Director of Dangote Business School, Bayero University Kano (BUK), Professor Murtala Sagagi, has said that lack of unity, synergy and collaboration among business community is the reason why successive governments shun businessmen in Kano state.
Sagagi noted that successive administration in Kano make policies without carrying business community along due to lack of synergy among the business people.
According to him, the standard practice worldwide is that business community has great role to play in government policies for meaningful development in the society.
He however stated that the economic development being witnessed in Lagos, Ogun and other states is as a result of unity and collaboration among the business community.
“I therefore called on the government to reconsider business community and involve them in policy making. We have educated businessmen here. Some have Masters, some PhD, some have BSc, some are Quranic memorisers, among others.
“I also urg the business community to be united and collaborate with one another to achieve business development and prosperity, especially to save our society from decaying.
“We want a situation where a businessman would become a governor in this state,” he said.
Earlier in his welcome remarks, Chairman of the Occasion, Prof. B. Y Abubakar said Mrs Falke has become a lesson to people who think women could not excel in life.
“She has demonstrated that woman can become whatever she wants to become. She has become a lesson to people who think women can not excel in life. She has also become a role model to women with entrepreneurship mind,” he said.
He added that the choice of Kano for the event was befitting because it is the centre of commerce.

Headlines
2023: APC urges INEC to redeploy Kano REC

Mukhtar Yahaya Usman
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has called for immediate redeployment of the Kano State Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner Abdu Zango from the state.
KANO FOCUS reports that the State APC Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas said this, when he presented a petition challenging the outcome of the March 18 governorship election at the state’s INEC office on Wednesday in Kano.
Abbas, represented by the state APC Legal Adviser, Abdul Fagge, said that INEC should have declared the election as inconclusive for some reasons.
“The REC manifestly affirmed the allegations of partisanship, favouritism and rigging against him when on March, 20 he connived with the Returning Officer to declare Abba Yusuf of the NNPP as the winner of the governorship election instead of declaring that the election was inconclusive,” he said.

He said that the number of voters in polling units where election was cancelled was 273,442, which was more than twice the margin of win between the two main contenders in the election which was 128,897.
‘’The REC and the Returning Officer thereby disenfranchised the 273,442 voters and acted contrary to the combined provisions of Section 24, 51 of the Electoral Act, 2022, Article 62 of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Election, 2022.
‘’There action was also contrary to items 4.2.16, Note 32 at page 84 and item 6 of the table at page 93 of the Manual for Election Officials, 2022.
“It is in view of the foregoing that we once again register our loss of confidence in the Kano REC and demand for his immediate redeployment in line with the dictates of the law, impartiality and respect for due process and the rule of law,’’ he said.
INEC had declared Abba Yusuf of NNPP as the winner of the election after polling 1,019,602 votes to defeat Yusuf Gawuna of the APC, who scored 892,705 votes.

Headlines
Abba Kabir Yusuf urges ‘victory trekkers’ to cancel plans, seeks prayers

Aminu Abdullahi
The Kano State Governor-elect, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, has urged his supporters and members of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) to embark on prayers for ingenuity and guidance for his leadership towards delivering the dividends of democracy.
KANO FOCUS reports that this is contained in a statement in Kano on Wednesday by Spokesperson of governor-elect Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa.
The prayers, Yusuf said, are sufficient as a show of solidarity and celebration of his victory at the polls on Saturday and not miles of trek by some of his enthusiasts in some quarters especially given the state of insecurity with banditry, kidnapping and terrorism threatening peaceful movement of people and goods across the length and breadth of the country.

Yusuf also pledged commitment to improved infrastructure and good welfare for the aged, civil servants and private sector among others in the state.
“The incoming Kano State Government will be committed to a greater future of the people with security, health, education, economic, infrastructure and good welfare for aged, civil servants and private sector among others”, he said.

Headlines
Gawuna, APC reject Kano governorship election, ask INEC to declare exercise inconclusive

Aminu Abdullahi
All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in the last Saturday gubernatorial election, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna on Tuesday rejected the declaration of Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party NNPP as the winner of the poll in Kano state.
KANO FOCUS reports that Gawuna in his first public appearance after the poll, spoke during a press conference by the party in the state capital.
The Deputy Governor who admitted that power comes from Almighty Allah, however said he aligned with the positions of the party which among others gave INEC 7 days ultimatum to declared the governorship poll inconclusive.
Gawuna who was in the company of party leaders, said it was astonishing that with the same election, 16 of the House of Assembly elections held same day and same conditions were declared inconclusive by INEC.

Meanwhile, the APC in Kano has rejected the announcement of Abba Kabir Yusif of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as winner of the just concluded governorship election in Kano calling for immediate review of the election result by the electoral umpire within seven days.
The APC chairman, who was represented by the party’s legal adviser, Abdul Adamu Fagge insists that the election should be declared inconclusive because the cancelled votes were greater than the margin between the first and the second parties of NNPP and APC respectively as provided by the Electoral Act.
Fagge said that there was no way the election could be declared conclusive with over 270,000 votes cancelled which a margin shows is bigger than the winner’s votes.
The party also drew attention to the cancellation of sixteen House of Assembly elections in the state, sighting violence as the reason, while the same votes were considered in collating the governorship election.
It expressed dismay saying the two elections took place same day, same time, same places and under the same circumstances.
Fagge said, “based on section 65 of the Electoral Laws 2022, we have written to INEC to revisit and cancel the hasty, wrong and selfish declaration of the NNPP as winner of the elections, and declared the conduct inconclusive”.
He said they have since written to INEC to within seven days revisit the elections based on the provisions of the Electoral laws and declare it Inconclusive.
The Legal Adviser explained that INEC Returning Officer, acted not on the only basis of the provisions of laws.
