PDP kicks as INEC asks APC to replace Prince Abubakar Audu

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor, Henry Umoru, Ikechukwu Nnochiri, Kingsley Fanwo, Levinus Nwabughiogu & Omeiza Ajayi ABUJA—The Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC, yesterday, invited

the All Progressives Congress, APC, to forward a replacement for Prince Abubakar Audu, its
dead candidate in the inconclusive Kogi State
governorship election, thereby throwing up
fresh legal and political firestorm in the state.
The INEC decision followed a pronouncement
to that effect by the Minister of Justice,
Mallam Abubakar Malami. While the APC
welcomed the decision, the opposition Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP demanded Malami’s
resignation as it described the decision as an
affront to democracy laced with mines to
torpedo the democratic choice of the people in
Kogi State.
Meanwhile, APC, ahead of the December 5
supplementary polls to conclude the
governorship election, has proposed fresh
primaries to throw up a replacement for late
Audu. At press time, yesterday, the APC
hierarchy in Abuja and Lokoja were still
undecided on the mode of the potential
primary contest.
There was also a cloud on whether it would
be restricted to only those who bought the
initial forms or opened up to new entrants, a
possibility that could draw in Audu’s running
mate, Rep. James Faleke and Alhaji Isah Jibrin
Echocho who recently defected from the PDP
after a stormy political battle with the
incumbent governor, Captain Idris Wada.
The seeming constitutional crisis in Kogi State
was opened after last Saturday’s governorship
election was declared inconclusive upon the
fact that the difference in votes between the
late Audu and Wada was smaller than the
number of registered voters in the 91 polling
units where the votes were cancelled. Audu
died Sunday before the election could be
concluded, throwing up a legal storm on the
fate of the election.
Justice Minister on Kogi election
Malami, speaking at a seminar organised by
the Nigerian Law Reform Commission on the
reform of the National Environmental
Standards and Regulation Enforcement
Agency (Establishment) Act , said the Kogi
gubernatorial election must be concluded
within the next 14 days.
Specifically, the AGF said his position on the
matter was fortified by a combined reading
and application of Section 221 of the 1999
Constitution and Section 33 of the Electoral
Act.
However, he failed to state whether or not the
deputy governorship candidate of the APC,
Mr. Abiodun Faleke, should be the proper
person to replace Audu for the purpose of the
run-off poll.
He said: “The issue is very straightforward.
Fundamentally, Section 33 of the Electoral Act
is very clear that in case of death, the right for
substitution by a political party is sustained
by the provisions of Section 33 of the
Electoral Act.
“And if you have a community reading of that
section with Section 221 of the constitution it
clearly indicates that the right to vote is the
right of a political party and the party, in this
case, the APC has participated in the conduct
of the election. It is, therefore, apparent that
the combined community reading of the two
provisions does not leave any room for
conjecture.
“APC as a party is entitled to substitution by
the clear provisions of Section 33 of the
Electoral Act. Also, Section 221 of the
Constitution is clear that the votes cast were
cast in favour of the APC.
“Arising from that deduction, it does not
require any legal interpretation. The
interpretation is clear, APC will substitute,
which right has been sustained by Section 33
of the Electoral Act. So be it.
“The supplementary election has to be
conducted along the line”, the AGF added.
Weighing in on the way forward following its
acknowledgment of a notice from the APC on
the death of Audu, INEC in a statement issued
by the secretary of the commission, Augusta
Ogakwu, put all the political parties on notice
that the supplementary polls would hold on
December 5.
She added that the APC has also been offered
a window of opportunity to pick a new
candidate for the exercise.
The statement reads: “The Independent
National Electoral Commission, INEC,
conducted governorship election in Kogi State
on 21st November 2015, which was declared
inconclusive.
“On November 23, 2015, the All Progressives
Congress, APC, notified the commission of the
death of its governorship candidate in the
election, Prince Abubakar Audu.
“The commission has after due consideration
of the circumstances, decided as follows: To
conclude the process by conducting election
in the 91 affected polling units as announced
by the Returning Officer;
“To allow the All Progressives Congress to fill
the vacancy created by the death of its
candidate;
“To conduct the supplementary election on
December 5, 2015.
“Accordingly, notice is hereby given to all the
22 political parties participating in the Kogi
Governorship Election that supplementary
election in the 91 affected Polling Units shall
hold on December 5, 2015”.
PDP slams INEC, AGF
The INEC statement was immediately strongly
condemned by the PDP.
Immediately INEC issued the statement senior
officials of the party in Lokoja huddled into a
meeting to review the situation. At the end of
their meeting, yesterday evening, party
leaders refused to comment, saying the party
in Abuja would speak for them.
The party, reacting through its National
Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh in a
statement issued in Abuja demanded the
resignation of Malami as Minister of Justice
and Prof. Mahmud Yakubu as INEC chairman
as the party alleged a conspiracy between the
two to derail the democratic enterprise.
“The party is shocked that INEC, a supposedly
independent electoral umpire could allow
itself to succumb to the antics of the APC by
following the unlawful directive of an
obviously partisan AGF to substitute a
candidate in the middle of the ballot process.
We are all aware that the two legal documents
guiding INEC in the conduct of elections; the
Constitution and the Electoral Act, have
provisions for electoral exigencies as well as
empower the electoral body to fully take
responsibility for any of its actions or inaction
without undue interference from any quarters
whatsoever.
“We are, therefore, at a loss as to which
sections of these two relevant laws, INEC and
the AGF relied on in arriving at their bizarre
decision to substitute a dead candidate in an
on-going election even after the timelines for
such has elapsed under all the rules.
INEC as a statutory body has the full
complements of technical hands in its legal
department to advise it appropriately and we
wonder why it had to wait for directives from
the AGF, an external party, if not for partisan
and subjective interest.
Consequently, the PDP rejects in its entirety,
this brazen move by the APC and INEC to
circumvent the laws and ambush the yet-to-be
concluded election by introducing a practice
that is completely alien to the constitution and
the electoral act.
“The clear implication of this action of the
AGF and INEC is that the APC would be
fielding two different governorship
candidates in the on-going Kogi election,
meaning that INEC would be transferring
votes cast for late Prince Abubakar Audu to
another candidate, scenarios that have no
place in the constitution of the land.
“Whereas the PDP, in honour of the sanctity
of human life and respect for the dead, had
since Sunday refrained from making
comments on the conduct of the election, we
can no longer maintain such in the face of the
bare-faced attack on our democracy.
“This INEC under the leadership of Prof.
Mahmood Yakubu has shown itself as
partisan, morally bankrupt and obviously
incapable of conducting a credible election
within our laws.
“In view of the foregoing, therefore, the PDP
demands an immediate resignation of the
INEC chairman, as the nation’s democracy
cannot afford to be left in the hands of an
electoral umpire that cannot exert its
independence and the sanctity of the electoral
process.
“In view of the developments regarding Kogi
Governorship election, the National Working
Committee of the PDP has summoned an
emergency National Caucus meeting of the
party on Wednesday, November 25, 2015
(today), to take a decision on this obvious
threat to our democracy.
APC welcomes development
The APC on its part, however, welcomed the
development even as it proposed a primary
among interested contestants as a replacement
for Audu.
It was learned, last night, that the APC
National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun,
met behind closed doors with some of the
aspirants who participated in the previous
primaries yesterday. Audu’s running mate in
the election was also invited to the meeting.
Speaking to newsmen yesterday, Odigie-
Oyegun said: “We lost our candidate for the
election in Kogi State on Sunday and since
then, we have concentrated as a party on
paying him the right respect that is due to a
man of his calibre. Let me take this
opportunity to express the very sincere
condolence of the entire party nationwide to
the family of Prince Abubakar Audu and to
the people of Kogi State who have just gone
through the rigours of an election, indicated
their preference for Prince Abubakar Audu,
only to lose him at the very moment of
victory. We were represented at the funeral
by almost the entire executive and that is now
behind us. Now, matters of state must now
come back to the fore.
“I want to underscore the fact that INEC is
also apparently in agreement with the views
of the Attorney-General because we have
already received a letter from them formally
asking us to find a replacement for the
vacancy that has been created by the passing
on of Prince Abubakar Audu, and that is what
will now engage the APC from this moment
on.”
Asked when the primary election was
expected to hold, the chairman said all that
was a matter of discussion with the party
stakeholders
“We just got notification from INEC today. So,
we will go into an emergency session to work
out the modalities and nature of the primary.
We are told that the supplementary election
will be on December 5. When that will be or
who will be is a matter of details. But it is
going to be the preference of the electors and
we will respect that. We are a democratic, law
abiding party, and we are going to proceed
accordingly.”
On the fate of Audu’s running mate, Faleke,
Odigie-Oyegun decided that it was incumbent
on the people to decide whether he would join
in the primaries.
“I said it will be the preference of the electors
on who the candidate that will replace Prince
Abubakar Audu will be”, he said.
On a similar stance, the national chairman
also refused to give details on whether it
would sell fresh expression of interest forms
or work with the former aspirants of the
ticket.
Meanwhile, it emerged, yesterday, that Alhaji
Echocho, who crossed over to the APC from
the PDP after a futile bid to take the
governorship ticket from Wada, was inclining
into the contest.
Echocho had reportedly been backed by
Senator Smart Adeyemi in the PDP primary
and failing which, his supporters and those of
Senator Adeyemi collaborated in the election
to fight Wada.
On whether such new entrants would be
allowed into the APC contest, Odigie-Oyegun
was yet undecided saying: “So, we are going
to do everything as straightforward and
simple, but clearly above board in
maintaining due process as much as possible.
I cannot give you that answer now because
we just got indication of the clear direction
from INEC within the last few hours.”
The INEC stance on a fresh election was also
flayed by the Progressive Peoples Congress.
Speaking to Vanguard, the Kogi State
Chairman of the party, Mr. Simeon Ojonuba
said the electoral body erred by arrogating
importance to illegality. He said the party was
prepared to contest the position of INEC in a
competent court of jurisprudence if the
commission fails to retrace its steps on the
matter.
Ojonuba accused the electoral body of acting
the script of a political party, saying the party
would only favour an outright cancellation
and rerun.