Late Audu Remain Governorship Candidate For APC

INEC, said although it heard the news of the death of Prince Abubakar Audu, APC governorship candidate but would come up with an appropriate decision that would be fair, lawful and acceptable to all.

Director of Voter Education, Publicity, Civil Society and Gender Liaison at the Commission, Mr Oluwole Osaze-Uzi said that INEC would make its position public as soon as it was addressed by APC on the issue.

The anti-climax arising from the death of Prince Abubakar Audu in the Kogi State governorship election continued yesterday after the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC affirmed that the dead Audu remained the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

The assertion came as a meeting of senior INEC officials in Abuja called to ponder possible options on the issue was temporarily aborted after news emerged that Audu had ‘resurrected’.

The dispersal of the meeting coincided with jubilations in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital that Audu had been revived.

The news of Audu’s ‘revival’ about midday followed insistence of some prophets who stormed the late Audu’s country home in Ogbonicha, that they would revive him. The prophets, who were initially rebuffed by Audu’s family members, however, got passage into the room where the corpse was kept after desperate sympathisers overwhelmed the family members and broke the door to the room.

While they prayed, the grave diggers who all along had been busy at one section of Audu’s expansive country home relaxed. The relaxation in part gave fillip to rumours that Audu was being revived, a development that spread far and wide, even to INEC headquarters.

When they reconvened after the initial disruption, senior INEC officials affirmed that the commission was ignorant of Audu’s death.

Last night APC officials were still contemplating the nature of address to be presented to the electoral commission. Contacted on assertions by INEC, APC deputy national publicity secretary, Timi Frank promised to call back after further consultations. He, however, did not call back or respond to calls to his mobile phone at press time.

It is expected that whenever the APC addresses the commission that the principal officials of the body would meet with its consortium of lawyers and its in-house legal team to decide on the issue.