According to Punch, the Deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the November 21 election in Kogi State, Mr. James Faleke, has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to declare him the governor-elect following the death of the party’s governorship candidate, Abubakar Audu, with whom he contested the poll.
In his suit, FHC/ABJ/CS/977/2015, filed on Tuesday, Faleke argued that by combined reading of section 179(2)(a) and (b) as well as section 181(1) of the constitution, the election conducted on November 21, had already produced Audu as governor-elect and that by virtue of Audu’s death, he (Faleke) should be sworn in as the governor.
Faleke, through the suit, filed on his behalf by his lawyers, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), joined the Independent National Electoral Commission and the APC as defendants.
Punch reports that 4 other suits, including the one filed by the incumbent Governor, Idris Wada, and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, assigned to Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the same Federal High Court in Abuja, had been fixed for Thursday for hearing with judgment to follow on Friday ahead of the supplementary poll scheduled for Saturday.
With an advantage of about 41,000 votes in the declared results by INEC, Audu died on November 22 shortly after INEC said the election was inconclusive due to cancellation of votes in 91 polling units.
Faleke’s lawyers, who submitted nine issues to the court for determination and asked for 16 prayers, sought an order setting aside the decision of INEC that the November 21 poll was inconclusive.
They are also seeking an order setting aside the decision of INEC in a public notice on November 24, 2015, asking the APC to fill the purported vacancy created by Audu’s death and another order mandating INEC to announce the winner of the election.
Faleke argued in his supporting affidavit, which he personally deposed to on Tuesday, that there was no basis for not declaring Audu the winner of the November 21 poll.
He stated that the margin of victory between the joint ticket, which he shared with Audu for the APC, and that of the first runner-up, Wada, and his running mate, Yomi Awoniyi, of the PDP, was over 41,000 votes.
He added that there were only 35,000 voters with Permanent Voter Cards in the 91 polling units, where votes were cancelled by INEC.
He also stated that only 19,178 voters were accredited by INEC in the 91 polling units where the November 21 poll was cancelled. (Punch)