Declare me winner, Faleke tells INEC
Lawyer sues AGF, INEC, APC
PDP: We’re going to court to save Nigeria’s democracy
The impasse over the Kogi State governorship election deepened yesterday as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) deputy governorship candidate, Hon. James Faleke, finalised arrangements to settle the matter in court.
The PDP said it resolved to challenge the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in court “in order to save the nation’s democracy from imminent collapse.”
Faleke told New Telegraph yesterday that he has instructed his lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), to seek judicial redress over the Kogi election.
“We have filed the process and we’ve written INEC,” he said on the telephone last night. Both PDP and Faleke are laying claim as the winner of the November 21 governorship election.
While PDP asked INEC to declare its candidate, Governor Idris Wada as winner, Faleke has written the electoral umpire stating that he is the governorelect. Already, Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has dragged the Attorney- General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mallam Ibrahim Malami (SAN), INEC, PDP and APC to the Federal High Court in Lagos over the inconclusive gubernatorial election in Kogi State. INEC had declared the election inconclusive on the ground that the number of cancelled votes is higher than the margin of votes between the APC and PDP candidates.
A constitutional problem arose with the death of the APC candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu, on Sunday. Audu was leading with 240,867 votes to Wada’s 199,514 votes at the time the election was declared inconclusive. INEC, on Tuesday, fixed December 5 for the supplementary election, and said APC could nominate a replacement for its deceased candidate, so as to participate in the supplementary polls.
Faleke yesterday told INEC that it lacked powers to declare the November 21 governorship election in Kogi State inconclusive and also lacked the power to order the party to do a fresh primary election. Faleke, through his counsel, Olanipekun (SAN) in a letter dated November 26 and addressed to both the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and APC respectively, noted that it is unconstitutional for INEC to declare the Saturday election inconclusive.
The letter reads in part: “In accordance with the Electoral Act and INEC guidelines/regulations, elections results were declared first at the polling unit level, then at the ward level and later at the local government level. As the declaration is being made by INEC, same were relayed and announced on radio and television station, as well as social media. “The necessary INEC forms EC8A, EC8B and EC8C have also been duly filled and signed and made available to respective parties, participants in the elections, “Despite that, INEC curiously declared the election inconclusive and that a supplementary election will hold in some units…
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