Political drama is currently brewing in Kogi State as James Falake, the running mate to late Abubakar Audu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Saturday’s governorship election in the state, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to declare him governor elect without delay.
Falake, in a November 26 letter to INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, and obtained by Premium Times argued that under Section 187 of the 1999 Constitution, he was duly elected as deputy governor of Kogi State.
While mourning the death of his boss, Audu, the deputy governorship candidate said INEC had no right under the law to declare the election inconclusive.
He accused INEC of deliberately creating what he called “legal conundrum” and urged the APC not to be a party to the action.
“In law and logic, no new candidate can inherit or be a beneficiary of the votes already cast, counted and declared by INEC before that candidate was nominated and purportedly sponsored,” Faleke wrote through his counsel, Wole Olanipekun.
“Assuming without conceding that INEC is even right to order a supplementary election, the votes already cast, counted and declared on Saturday, 25th November 2015, were votes for the joint constitutional ticket of Prince Abubakar Audu and our client.
“Therefore, no new or ‘supplementary’ candidate can hijack, aggregate, appropriate or inherit the said votes.”
Falake-In another letter to APC Chairman, John Oyegun, asked his party, APC to ignore the “Greek Gift” being offered to it to nominate a new candidate for a planned supplementary election in 91 polling units.
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