John Oyegun, chairman of the All Progressives
Congress (APC), says the death of Abubakar Audu,
candidate of the party in the November 21
election, “shut the gate of victory” against James
Faleke, his running mate.
Speaking with reporters in Abuja on Wednesday,
Oyegun said Faleke will be replaced as deputy
governor-elect should the need arise.
After presenting Yahya Bello as the party’s
candidate for the December 5 supplementary
election, APC announced Faleke as Bello’s running
mate but the deputy governorship candidate in
substantive election, rejected the decision.
He asked the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) to declare him governor-elect,
and chose Audu’s son as his running mate.
Faleke argued that even if APC was to pick a
candidate for the supplementary election, he ought
to have been considered since he ran on a joint
ticket with the deceased.
But Oyegun disagreed, saying the party had put
the Kogi issue behind. He said with time, the
“frustration which emanated” as a result of the
demise of Audu, would be a thing of the past.
“On the Faleke issue, it is rather a
straightforward and easy issue; we have replaced a
governorship candidate,” he said.
“If the need arises and subject to what the law
says, we will also get a deputy governorship
candidate but we will cross those bridges as they
arise but they have not arisen yet.
“As a political party, we simply understand the
frustration that emanated from the death of
Abubakar Audu. However, it is normal for us to
accommodate the immediate reactions coming from
the people involved.
“They were at the gate of victory but the gate was
shut in their faces because of the unfortunate
death of their mentor, Abubakar Audu, who would
have been our governor in the state.
“So, a lot of things, which normally we would not
have accepted, happened but we have to accept
them so long that everybody will simmer down as
time pass by. Wielding the big stick in a situation
like this might not be appropriate but there will be
a timeline to it, enough will be enough at a certain
time.
“In the next few weeks. depending on who goes to
court or who doesn’t, we will know the boundaries
of the law in respect of these issues. As at now, we
are very glad with the results that we have got
and I’m very sure that they would be upheld
virtually in every tribunal whatsoever, because we
have adopted simple commonsense solution, legally
defendable.
“We cross every bridge as we get to it; we’ll wait
and see who does what and work out answers that
meet each situation. We have thought the process
through and we have won the election in Kogi/
“Those we feel aggrieved, it is for them to call to
question whatever they feel aggrieved about and
we are going to meet them on those grounds. For
us in APC, Kogi is a settled issue; if you want to go
to the tribunal, we’ll meet you there. If you want
to go to court, we’ll meet you there.”
Oyegun said the party’s stance on the controversial
Bill for an Act to Prohibit Frivolous Petitions and
Other Matters known as the anti-social media bill
was known.
He said the social media space needed clean up as
the use of outright abuses and insults instead of
constructive criticisms was wrong.
On subsidy, he said: “Whether subsidy goes or stays
is an intricate and major issue.
“If it has to go, the government must have to
construct the palliatives to cushion the effect of
the hardships that may come on the ordinary
Nigerian.
“Anyway, eventually, subsidy will have to go but we
have not reached that stage yet.
‘’You cannot just wake up and announce that
subsidy has been removed without putting the
adequate programmes in place to cushion the
negative aspects that may be involved.”
Oyegun said minimum wage was a delicate issue
because there were a lot of forces at work.
“The economy was run aground so badly that they
have to borrow to pay salaries and this was not the
creation of APC,” he said.
“Today all governments are borrowing to pay
salaries and that cannot be sustained. What the
solution is on the longer term, the machinery of
governance is still working on. There is no method
that is adopted that will not create stresses on any
system but at the end of the day, we will find an
answer.”
Oyegun expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome
of Bayelsa election, but said since INEC had made
a pronouncement on it, the option before the APC
was to accept it or go to court.
“We are waiting for the processes to be concluded,
but I must say we have a lot of reservations about
what has gone on up till the present moment,” he
said.
“If we win as we expect to win, the kind of
reactions that we’ll take will be different.”

https://www.thecable.ng/audus-death-shut-the-gate-against-you-oyegun-tells-faleke

K

ITS NOT FAIR..........

The court of appeal will reinstate Faleke GBAM!!

But its nt fair o.