James Faleke, late Abubakar
Audu running mate in a November 26 2015 letter to INEC Chairman, Mahmood
Yakubu, insisted that under Section 187 of the 1999 Constitution, he was duly
elected as deputy governor of Kogi State.
While expressing sadness
over the demise of his principal, Abubakar Audu, the deputy governorship
candidate said INEC had no right under the law to declare the election
inconclusive.
He accused INEC of
deliberately creating what he called “legal conundrum” and urged the APC not to
be a party to the action.
“In law and logic, no new
candidate can inherit or be a beneficiary of the votes already cast, counted
and declared by INEC before that candidate was nominated and purportedly
sponsored,” Mr. Faleke wrote through his counsel, Wole Olanipekun.
“Assuming without conceding
that INEC is even right to order a supplementary election, the votes already
cast, counted and declared on Saturday, 25th November 2015, were votes for the
joint constitutional ticket of Prince Abubakar Audu and our client.
“Therefore, no new or
‘supplementary’ candidate can hijack, aggregate, appropriate or inherit the
said votes.”
In another letter to APC
Chairman, John Oyegun, Mr. Faleke urged his party to distance itself from the
“Greek Gift” being offered to it to nominate a new candidate for a planned
supplementary election in 91 polling units.
He said the election had
already been won and lost, and that the party should rather support him in
actualizing the mandate already given to APC and its candidates.
According to the result
declared by INEC, Mr. Audu had the highest number of votes thus leading the 21
other candidates, including the incumbent governor of Kogi State, Idris Wada,
who was the flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic Party.
However, INEC declared the
election inconclusive and ordered supplementary election in 91 polling
units.
The Commission also said on
Tuesday that despite the demise of Mr. Audu, it would go ahead with the
supplementary election and advised the APC to nominate a replacement for the
late APC candidate.
The APC, on its part,
resolved to organise a fresh primary election to pick a new candidate for the
supplementary election fixed for December 5 2015.
But in his three-page
letter to INEC, Mr. Faleke argued that in accordance with the Electoral Act and
INEC Guidelines/Regulations, results of the election were declared, first at
the polling unit level, then at the ward level and later at the local
government level.
He said as the declaration
was made by the electoral body, it was simultaneously relayed and announced on
radio and television stations, both private and public, as well as on social
media
He also said the necessary
INEC forms, including but not limited to Forms ECBA, ECBB, and ECBC were
filled, signed and made available to the respective political parties which
participated at the election.
Stating that the election
to the office of the governor is regulated by sections 178 and 179 of the
Constitution while nomination to the office is regulated by Section 187 of the
document, Mr. Faleke insisted the election had been completed in accordance
with the provisions of the constitution.
“Therefore, INEC has no
alternative or discretion other than to announce the result of the election and
declare our client as the winner,” he said.
“With much respect to INEC
under your very distinguished chairmanship, the reasons given by INEC to
declare the election as inconclusive are alien to the constitution and,
therefore unconstitutional.
“With further respect to
INEC, cancellation of election result by it cannot be a ground for declaring
any election as inconclusive.
“INEC is enjoined to
declare a winner of an election based on lawful votes cast. Thus, the cancelled
results by INEC for whatever reasons and assuming without conceding that INEC
could legitimately cancel such results, amount to unlawful votes, in effect,
INEC cannot declare a well concluded election as inconclusive based on unlawful
votes.”
Mr. Faleke said INEC’s
wrong declaration of the result as inconclusive had no nexus with the passing
on of Mr Audu.
He advised that INEC
“should not confuse the situation with what it intended in Section 33 of the
Electoral Act because the situation on ground has nothing to do with changing
or substitution of the name of a candidate before election.”
He added, “Mr. Chairman
Sir, this is a rather simple and straightforward matter which does not need any
delay, foot dragging or procrastination. It is a constitutional imperative.
“Put in another way, INEC
has a burden duty to declare our client as the winner of the election. Any
attempt to conduct any supplementary election in any unit whatsoever and
howsoever will amount to INEC breaching and flouting the constitution, and our
client will definitely challenge it.”
In the letter addressed to
the National Chairman of the APC, John Oyegun, Mr. Olanipekun, on behalf of Mr.
Faleke, said the scores already
announced for APC was final and binding.
He suggested that by parity
of reasoning, the APC should be declared the winner of the election while Mr.
Faleke is declared as governor-elect.
He said, “Arising from the
foregoing our client enjoins the APC not only to support him (Faleke) at
actualizing the mandate already given to the party under the joint ticket of
himself and the late Prince Abubakar Audu, but to also distance itself from the
“Greek gift” offer being made by INEC, to wit, that it is allowing the APC to
conduct a fresh primary election to nominate a candidate for a supplementary
election in 91 polling units where only about 25,000 PVCs are available:
whereas the APC is already leading by the announced results with over 40,000
votes.
“In parenthesis, we urge
the APC, under your able leadership, to speedily look into and act on our
client’s position as stipulated in this letter.”
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I WISH. AUDU WAS SWORN IN BEFORE HIS DEATH THEN Mr. FALEKE COULD. EASILY. STEPPED INTO HIS SHOES. MOVE FORWARD TRY TO GET D GOVERNORSHIP CANDIDATURE. ITS VERY PAINFUL.
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