The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday declared that there is no going back on its decision to conduct supplementary election in 91 polling units in Kogi State on Saturday, December 5. INEC had declared the governorship election inconclusive and fixed December 5th for the poll in line with the Electoral Act, which gives 14 days for supplementary election to be conducted where an election is declared inconclusive.
INEC’s position came in view of the demand by the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship running mate in the election, Hon. James Abiodun Faleke, that he should be declared the Governorelect following the death of APC governorship candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu. Audu died on Sunday November 22, a day after the election.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also called on INEC to declare its governorship candidate, Governor Idris Wada, winner of the poll. Wada had, on Friday, instituted a case in court, asking it to compel INEC to declare him winner of the November 21 governorship election in Kogi State. But INEC, yesterday, said a decision has been taken and it was not in a hurry to reverse it.
INEC’s Director, Voter Education and Publicity (VEP), Oluwale Osaze- Uzzi, told New Telegraph that the position of the commission was clear on Kogi supplementary poll. Osaze-Uzzi said he had read that “several letters have been written,” but wondered if such letters were necessary after a decision has already be taken.
“A decision has been taken and we are not going to reverse such decision, unless the court says otherwise, that we should not conduct the election or it’s wrong. It is not for anybody to say so. “INEC has made its stand clear, other people have suggested. So it is only the court now that can reverse it,” Osaze-Uzzi noted. On whether the commission has received letter or court summon with regard to Kogi poll, the INEC director said there was none of such as at close of work on Friday.
“Today is Sunday, I don’t know what happened on Friday, I have been out of town,” he said. Faleke told New Telegraph yesterday that he would never accept Yahaya Bello as the candidate of the party. He said there was no way Bello would be the candidate of the party in the state. Faleke said that if INEC insisted on conducting the by-election on Saturday, it was their own opinion. He said:
“If INEC says the by-election must hold, it is their own position. I disagree with them. Is Yahaya Bello a candidate? How can he be a candidate? He cannot be a candidate. I cannot be Yahaya Bello’s Deputy.” Also, Faleke yesterday told the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, that he was not ready to surrender the victory from Audu/ Faleke mandate to another candidate.
Faleke, in a letter he personally wrote to Oyegun, dated November 27, noted that the submission of another candidate’s name to INEC was illegal. In his letter, Faleke noted that the information at his disposal revealed that the party had issued INEC form and submitted his name as running mate to Bello in the forthcoming supplementary elections.
Faleke also noted that he is still committed to his joint ticket with late Audu in the November 21 governorship election in the state. According to him, “Following the demise of my principal, after the announcement of the result from the polling units, wards and local government and the states, our party had the highest number of votes of 240,867 against PDP’s 199, 574 thus creating a difference of 41, 353 votes between the two leading parties.
On the strength of this, I hereby clearly state that I remain the Governor-elect of Kogi State on the platform of our great party. “Please take this letter as confirmation to dissociate myself from this unusual and strange supplementary nomination of humble self as running mate to Alhaji Yahaya Bello. This also served as a notice of rejection of the purported and illegal nomination of myself as running mate to Alhaji Bello.
“I wish to put on record that I was neither consulted nor informed by anybody before my name was submitted as running mate to a man who has, since the conduct of the primaries, abandoned the party, took the party to court, worked for PDP, thereby causing our party to lose his polling unit 88 votes to his ally party, the PDP.
“It is clear that our party is on the path of rewarding disloyalty and discourage loyalty through this act of impunity. “I am not surrendering the mandate of the people of Kogi State bestowed on Audu/Faleke joint ticket at the November 21 polls as I remain Governor-elect,” he stated.
Faleke had earlier written to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu asking that he be declared the winner of the inconclusive election. In a letter written by his counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Faleke said that the only option opened to INEC is to declare him the governor-elect. Olanipekun told the INEC Chairman that the commission was under obligation to declare Faleke the governor-elect.
A similar letter was written to Oyegun. Faleke and Audu’s eldest son, Muhammed, held a closed-door meeting at the residence of the late former governorin Ogbonicha, Kogi State yesterday. The outcome of the meeting was not made known. But New Telegraph learnt that the meeting was about Audu’s replacement.
The Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Mr. Yomi Awoniyi, described Audu’s death as a big blow to the government and people of the state. Mohammed thanked the people for standing by the family during the moment of grief. The well attended prayer was, however, nearly marred by violence as some irate youths chased away a former National Chairman of PDP, Dr. Ahmadu Ali and Senator Nicholas Ugbane from the event.
Ali arrived Ogbonicha, the country home of the former governor about 11:40a.m., but was turned back at the gate by security agents who sensed the fierce mood of the youths in the expansive compound, where the prayer took place. Upon discovering that the former PDP national chairman was at the gate, the youths picked any object at sight including stones, woods etc. and gave Ali a hot pursuit. However, Ali’s driver was able to manoeuvre his boss out of reach with the blue Jeep he came with before the youths could lynch him. Although Ali, who was the Director-General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation in the 2015 election, escaped unhurt, his vehicle was badly damaged by the irate youths.
Supporters of the late Audu were said to be wondering what could have brought Ali to their mentor’s home on condolence considering the disparaging remarks he (Ali) allegedly made recently against the APC candidate at the PDP governorship rally in Ayingba. Audu’s supporters described Ali’s condolence visit as a mockery, which was intended to rejoice that his political enemy was dead. Unlike Ali, Senator Ugbane was not that lucky as he got a rude shock upon entering the compound of Audu. Ugbane was attacked by the late former governor’s supporters with all sorts of “missiles” they could lay their hands on.
Sensing danger, he quickly jumped into his black jeep and his driver made a U-turn to escape from the aggressive terrain he found himself. Some security agents eventually aided the escape of the former lawmaker. However, the windscreens of his Jeep and the body of the vehicle was battered by the angry youths who believed that the former senator from the Kogi Eastern District of the state had no business to be in the compound of their mentor. After contesting against Audu at the primaries, Ugbane who served as commissioner under Audu between 1999 and 2003, stayed away throughout the electioneering.
