Johnchuks Onuanyim reports on the succession battle within the All Progressives Congress (APC), following the death of Prince Abubakar Audu, the party’s governorship candidate in the November 21 Kogi State election
The death of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Abubakar Audu in the November 21 governorship election in Kogi State, opened another legal vista in the country’s political landscape. This was as a result of the directive by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the APC to replace its candidate (late Audu) ahead of the December 5 supplementary poll.
Before Audu’s death on Sunday November 22, he had polled 240, 867 votes against Governor Idris Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 199, 514 votes from results of the 21 local government areas announced by INEC. However, the commission announced that 49,953 votes were canceled, which is higher than the margin between the two leading candidates.
INEC, having declared the election inconclusive and the AGF stating that APC can replace the deceased candidate in the inconclusive election, the nation was thrown into a constitutional crisis over how to replace the APC candidate who was cruising home to victory before his death was announced.
The unanticipated development prompted APC stalwarts, who participated in the election directly or indirectly to begin jostling to be candidate to be announced the winner of the election since the declared supplementary election by INEC would not in any way change the victory recorded by the late APC candidate.
Among those who jostled to be considered as successor to Audu were Hon. James Faleke, the running mate to Audu in the election; Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the aspirant who came second in the primaries that produced Audu as APC candidate and Mohammed Audu, son of the late APC candidate.
On another hand, the PDP candidate and his party asked INEC to declare them winner of the election since their opponent in the election is dead. All these persons and their supporters believe that they should be the one to take the victory of Audu in the governorship election to occupy the Lugard House as governor come next year.
Of a truth is that they all seem to be advancing one legal or moral position to project their respective ambitions since the Constitution and the Electoral Act did not envisage such development. The closest that the Nigerian constitution and Electoral Act provided for in respect to such scenario is what should be done when a governor dies and when a governorship candidate of a political party dies before an election.
On one hand, the constitution states that the deputy governorelect would be sworn in as a governor, while on another hand, the Electoral Act states that INEC should postpone the election, while the political party makes a replacement of the deceased candidate. So, the Kogi situation opened a window for both political and legal struggles based on morality and sentiments and that was why the APC as a political party was initially at a crossroads on what to do.
For instance, some APC stakeholders in Kogi and outside the state, canvassed for Mohammed, son of the late Audu, to succeed his father on the grounds that his father spent so much money to prosecute the election. Proponents of this view also believed that without the candidature of Audu, the APC would not have won the election in Kogi State. Some other persons argued that given the fact that Audu was from the majority Igala tribe, it was proper that another candidate from the area succeeds him. Another issue raised was that of religion. Faleke is a Christian, while Mohammed Audu is a Muslim.
To buttress this the Head of media, Prince Abubakar Audu/ Faleke campaign organisation, Dr. Tom Ohikere, accused the party and the Presidency of a plot to replace late Audu with a Muslim. Ohikere, in statement in Lokoja, said: “It has been a grand conspiracy between the party leadership and the Presidency to ensure that a Muslim is used as a replacement to late Prince Abubakar Audu, who died on the 22 of November.” Given preference to the candidature of the running mate of late Audu as a rightful successor, he said: “The presidency and APC leadership cannot be unaware of the provision of the law, where a running mate to a deceased candidate in an ongoing election steps in as the party’s flag bearers.”
Also another group under the platform of Kogi Youths Vanguard, protested against a planned fresh primaries of the APC as announced by the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun. Speaking to journalists at the Headquarters of APC in Abuja, the spokesperson of the group, Mr. Bamidele Peters, said section 181 of the constitution should be made to apply under the circumstance to enable the party resolve the crisis of substitution in which APC finds itself now.
He said: “Though we sympathize with the family of the late APC governorship candidate, Audu Abubakar, and the Kogi electorate who voted for APC, we feel that this mandate is just for an individual but the entire party. We think the election should be allowed to be concluded and that there should be no replacement of the candidate until that was done.
The party will after the election be able to replace its candidate. “Our own interest under the circumstance is to ensure that the supplementary election is concluded. Even if the party will want to replace its candidate it should be after the election and I feel that if possible the running mate, Abiodun Faleke should be allowed to step in to replace the late governorship candidate.”
Faleke also received the endorsement of other APC stakeholders in Kogi State and beyond, but some analysts argued that he did not contest the governorship primaries of APC, and therefore not qualified to be a successor to Audu as a candidate in the supplementary election.
Another factor that worked against Faleke was the issue of his emergence as running mate to the late Audu. Some persons believed that his entrance into Kogi politics would further strengthen the political tentacles of the national leader of APC and former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. It is alleged that Tinubu single handedly nominated Faleke as the running mate of the late Audu.
To some stakeholders in Kogi State APC, that was an intrusion and should not be allowed to stay. Also, against Faleke was what some consider as over-ambition. They believe that he has not accorded the necessary respect to his principal, the late Audu for showing interest to be declared the winner of the election when the eighth day Fidau prayers for Audu has not been conducted. According to them, the death of Audu was not a concern to him,but what he gets from the death. Faleke had in the thick of the intrigues contacted his lawyer, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) to write to INEC to declare him winner of the election.
He was of the view that the November 21 governorship election in Kogi State has been won and lost, and therefore should be declared winner since the December 5 supplementary election fixed by INEC cannot take away the victory from APC. Another strong contender in the succession battle was Alhaji Yahaya Bello. He contested the APC governorship primaries and came second with 703 votes.
Some APC members in Kogi State, first adopted him as the successor to late Audu and urged the party’s leadership to forward his name as the candidate of the party for the supplementary election. However, it was not a smooth ride as some persons kicked against his choice, alleging that he played anti-party against APC after losing the governorship ticket of the party in the primaries. For them, it is not enough that he contested the governorship primaries of the party and came second for him to be allowed to succeed Audu.
Amidst the internal wrangling in the APC, the PDP approached the court for its candidate (Wada) to be declared winner of the election. The party condemned the position of the AGF on Audu’s replacement. National Publicity of PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh. Said: “We insist that with the death of its candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu, the APC has legally crashed out of the governorship race as no known law or constitutional provision allows the substituting of candidates, once the ballot process has commenced.
“We insist that with the unfortunate death of Prince Abubakar Audu, the APC has no valid candidate in the election, leaving INEC with no other lawful option than to declare the PDP candidate, Capt. Idris Wada as the winner of the election. “Note that the combine reading of the provisions of the constitution and Electoral Act does not in any war whatsoever support the substitution of candidates for election in the middle of the ballot process.
The PDP was however silent on the status of Faleke who had a joint ticket with the late Audu and the party which produced the candidate. The late Abubakar Audu support group in canvassing support for Faleke had argued that the joint ticket of Audu/Faleke qualifies him (Faleke) to be declared the winner of the election.
The leader of the group, Ohikere said: “I’m amazed by the level of opinion canvassed by several leading legal icons on this seemingly thorny issue. Some have called for a fresh election, others have argued otherwise while some have posited that the victory of APC should be, wholesale, donated to PDP’s Capt Wada. Surprisingly, all these arguments seem to have overlooked the provisions of section 187 (1) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended.
“This provision states: ‘In any election to which the foregoing provision of this part of this chapter relates, a candidate for the office of governor of a state shall not be deemed to have been validly nominated for such office unless he nominates another candidate as his associate for his running for the office of Governor who is to occupy the office of Deputy Governor……’ I am tempted to expound the above provision of the constitution applying or adopting the literal and grammatical approach to its interpretation.
“It therefore follows that in the Kogi State governorship election of 21st November, 2015, Hon. Faleke was an associate candidate in that election. Methinks that the election, having proceeded and results released or declared before the demise of the main candidate, the associate candidate must, constitutionally, be entitled to step into the shoes of the (deceased) main candidate.
“Clearly, the raison d’être for insertion of the provision of section 187(1) into the constitution is for such situation as has played itself out in Kogi State with the demise of the governorship candidate before the conclusion of election, but after the commencement of polls. It is not in doubt that at the time of the occurrence of the death of Prince A. Audu, Hon. Faleke had acquired vested right to the votes cast in that election alongside his party (APC).”
In all these, the lawyers and political pundits became divided on what should be done on the replacement of the late Audu and the conclusion of the governorship election. While some were of the opinion that APC has the right to replace Audu as its candidate, some were of the opinion that the election should be cancelled and a fresh election conducted.
The APC leadership, on its part argued that it would be inhuman to talk about who succeeds their late candidate when the eighth days prayers have not been concluded. “We will speak on Monday after the Fidau prayers for Prince Audu,” Odigie Oyegun said. As promised, the party, yesterday, adopted Bello as substitute for Audu and candidate in the December 5 supplementary poll.
Faleke, however, disagreed with the choice of the APC and threatened court action. He had earlier yesterday chosen the son of late Audu, Mohammed as his running mate. Bello’s emergence, however, did not come that easy. His supporters and those of Faleke clashed at the APC secretariat in Abuja, but the police was able to put the situation under control. For now, the matter seems to have been settled but there is no doubt that the court would be the ultimate decider as the various interests are not giving up.
