I won’t take your mandate for granted – Kano governor-elect

Kano State governor-elect, Abba Kabir, has said he will not take for granted the trust between his party the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and the people of Kano State while discharging of his responsibilities as governor.

“Our unflinching gratitude goes to the entire people of the state. We recognize your determination, courage, loyalty, and commitment as well as your ferocious resolve to defend your sovereign rights and the integrity of our democracy”, Mr Kabir said in his acceptance speech on Tuesday.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Mr Kabir as the winner of Saturday’s governorship election in Kano.

The NNPP candidate won with 1,019,602 votes to defeat the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Nasiru Gawuna, who scored 890,705 votes.

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Muhammad Abacha, got 15,957 votes while that of the Labour Party, Ishaq Bashir, scored 5,409 votes.

The acceptance speech

Mr. Kabir said he won the election despite widespread violence, votes buying, and other challenges during the conduct of the governorship and state house of assembly election.

“Even though our party the NNPP is relatively new coupled with the fact that the logo of our party was poorly depicted on the ballot paper and widespread electoral violence; you still gave us your mandate.

“We had no money and due to the inflicted poverty on the citizenry the government took advantage by buying votes of the people with both the new and old currencies and distributing wrappers and other household items to voters. Against all these odds you still came out in mass to give us your mandate. We are profoundly grateful and will not take your mandate for granted.

“Our unreserved commendation goes to members of the armed forces who were deployed to Kano for the election and most of the other security agencies and indeed the Independent Electoral Commission for maintaining their neutrality by keeping the peace and promptly responding to our genuine complaints before, during, and after the elections.

“In the same vein, I salute and commend the patriotism of members of the media for their coverage and also applaud and appreciate the role played by members of the Civil Society and the numerous domestic and international observer groups that worked tirelessly towards ensuring free, fair, and credible elections,” Mr Kabir said.

He said he will continue with the legacy of the former governor of the state, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and complete abandoned projects.

“Our administration will be an off-shoot of the Kwankwaso administration and we assure the good people of Kano State of our resolve to uphold and continue with the philosophy of the Kwankwasiyya.

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“We shall continue with its laudable populace policies of good qualitative education, empowerment programs, policies and programs that promote skills acquisition and entrepreneurship, the completion of abandoned projects, free maternal healthcare programs, and the provision of a conducive atmosphere for the development of businesses in and within the state.

“We cannot complete this acceptance speech without thanking our leader and mentor, His Excellency Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso for his untiring effort that led to the declaration of our mandate today as Governor and Deputy Elect. Finally, we thank all people of goodwill across the country and even foreign nationals,” Mr Kabir said.