₦airaland Forum

I believe in party loyalty but fair plus is not a loyal partyman.since he lost d primaries he never participated in apc campaigns.he was neva seen at aani of d apc campaign programme.nd now he wants to reap from d sweat of those he neva believed in.I praise him thou for not decamping but I doubt he even voted for apc on d election day

[quote author=pikin post=40315060]By Bolaji Adebiyi in Abuja

The death on Sunday of the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate in the Kogi State governorship election, Alhaji Abubakar Audu, has thrown up issues that may require judicial interpretation of the courts on the legal status of a gubernatorial election in which a candidate dies before the declaration of results by the electoral commission.

While some lawyers, including Prof Itse Sagay and Mr. Olisa Agbakoba, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), said the death of a candidate before the declaration of results or emergence of a winner renders the election inconclusive and mandates the conduct of a fresh election, others held the opinion that the election would have to be concluded and the party that wins, even when the candidate is dead, would have to be declared the winner.

Of paramount consideration for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will be the glaring fact that this is the first time a candidate will die midstream into an election, after it has started and before it was concluded with the declaration of a winner and losers.
This dilemma was not envisaged by the framers of the constitution or the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended). All the constitution provides for is a situation in which a declared winner dies or is unable to be sworn into office after the election while the Electoral Act provides for a situation where the candidate dies after his/her nomination, but before the election.

Specifically, Section 181(1) of the constitution states: “If a person duly elected as governor dies before taking and subscribing to the oath of allegiance and oath of office, or is unable for any reason whatsoever be sworn in, the person elected with him as deputy governor shall be sworn in as governor and he shall nominate a new deputy governor who shall be appointed by the governor with the approval of a simple majority of the House of Assembly of the state.”

Section 36(1) of the Electoral Act states: “If after the time for the delivery of nomination paper and before the commencement of the poll, a nominated candidate dies, the Chief National Electoral Commissioner or the Resident Electoral Commissioner shall, being satisfied of the fact of the death, countermand the poll in which the deceased candidate was to participate and the commission shall appoint some other convenient date for the election within 14 days.”

Also, Section 33 states that “a political party shall not be allowed to change or substitute its candidate whose name has been submitted pursuant to Section 32 of this Act, except in the case of death or withdrawal by the candidate”.

In the Kogi election, however, INEC is confronted with a situation whereby voting has taken place, results have been released, but the poll was declared inconclusive owing to the number of cancelled votes in select polling units and wards in 19 local government areas of the state exceeding the margin of difference between the two leading candidates, thus necessitating supplementary elections in the affected polling units or wards.

In addition, the amended Electoral Act requires the name and the party of the candidate to be published on the ballot paper, effectively ensuring that the candidate supersedes the party on which he/she is contesting, an amendment made by the National Assembly in 2010 in response to the Supreme Court ruling in Chibuike Amaechi Vs. Celestine Omehia and the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) in 2007, in which the court recognised the victory of the party in the Rivers State poll that year and declared Amaechi victorious despite his absence on the ballot.
Since INEC is required to publish the names of candidates on its ballot paper, if in the event of his/her death during the election and he/she is replaced by a running mate, can it really be said that the new candidate can take over the votes cast for the dead candidate? Can INEC really say that was the intendment of the Kogi electorate?

It is apparent that INEC would have to decide on the Kogi electorate, which clearly did not vote for anybody else other than Audu. In arriving at a decision, a fresh election seems like the most obvious scenario that would satisfy the yearnings of the voters of Kogi.

However, before it can arrive at a decision INEC, THISDAY gathered, was already consulting with a battery of lawyers last night and is expected to continue its meeting with them in Abuja today.

According to a source, INEC and its lawyers will be looking at a number of scenarios, which may prove quite challenging to resolve and require it to go court to seek legal interpretation.
•Scenario one entails Audu’s running mate, James Abiodun Faleke, insisting on being declared the winner of the election.
•Scenario two would entail Faleke, backed by the APC, insisting on concluding the election with him as the governorship candidate of the party and being allowed to chose a running mate/deputy governorship candidate.
•Scenario three could see Faleke, backed by the APC, contesting as the candidate of the APC in a fresh election as the governorship candidate with a running mate.
•Scenario four would entail the outright cancellation of the Kogi governorship election by INEC and APC nominating fresh candidates to contest in the new poll.
•Scenario five could also see Governor Idris Wada of the PDP insisting on being declared the duly elected governor on the grounds that he cannot be blamed for the death of Audu and he is the next substantive governorship candidate left in the race, as opposed to Faleke who is a running mate.

In his remarks on the legal lacuna, Prof. Sagay said: “Obviously, the election has become inconclusive. If the person who scores the highest votes dies before being declared the winner of the election, in that type of situation, there has to be a fresh election, giving the party affected to provide a substitute.

Agbakoba was similarly inclined, stating: “The fact that the candidate is dead, invalidates the ticket,” arguing that “you need to have a person and a party to complete the ticket”.
He said the situation would have been different if the candidate had been declared the winner of the election before his demise. “The deputy would have been elevated to the position of the governor,” Agbakoba said.

When reminded of the Supreme Court ruling in the All Nigeria Peoples Party Vs Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a 1999 case interpreted and given effect to this section of the constitution when it held that Mr. Bonnie Haruna, who was the running mate of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who was elected governor, but was also elected vice-president before he was sworn in as governor of Adamawa State, was eligible to be elevated to position of governor without recourse to a fresh election.

But Agbakoba said the Atiku case would not apply to the Kogi case because there was no declaration of results. “The deputy governor would have been elevated to the position of the governor if results had been declared. They didn’t get to that point; they were on their way there,” he said.

On the other hand, Festus Keyamo, while admitting that the death of Audu had created a “strange and novel constitutional scenario”, he said it fits more into Section 181(1) of the constitution, “and as such James Abiodun Faleke automatically becomes the governorship candidate of the APC”.

In a statement he issued yesterday, he said: “This is because even though the election is inconclusive, votes have been counted and allocated to parties and candidates. As a result the
joint ticket of Audu/Faleke has acquired some votes already.

“James Abiodun Faleke is as much entitled to those votes already counted as much as the late Abubakar Audu. He has a right to cling to those votes going into the supplementary election.

“There is only one problem, though. Who nominates Faleke’s deputy? Unlike Section 181(1) of the 1999 Constitution, he cannot approach the House of Assembly of the state to approve a nomination by him of a deputy.

“This is because, in reality, he is not duly elected yet. Therefore it is only reasonable to conclude that it is APC (Faleke’s political party) that should submit the name of a fresh deputy governorship candidate to INEC for the supplementary election.

“This is the only position in this situation that accords with reason and good sense.”
But some other lawyers, who preferred not to be named, argued differently, citing Section 221 of the constitution. According to them, it is the party, not the candidate that contests an election. Therefore they contended that if a candidate dies, the party has the constitutional right to replace him.

Section 221 states: “No association other than a political party, shall canvass for votes for any candidate at any election or contribute to the funds of any political party or to the election expenses of any candidate at an election.”

This section along with some sections of the Electoral Act 2007 came under Supreme Court scrutiny in the 2007 case of Amaechi who had challenged his substitution with Omehia by the PDP in the Rivers State gubernatorial election.

The principle the case established, said a lawyer, is that it was the political party, and not the candidate, that is elected at a poll. But Professor Sagay said while this position is correct, the Amaechi case would still not apply to the Kogi election.

“The Amaechi decision does not apply because the person who contested (Omehia) was not the person nominated. In that case, the person nominated was deprived of his victory. But in this case, the person nominated (Abubakar) was the contestant but died before he was declared winner,” he said.

Certainly, the days ahead would be testy for the INEC, as its lawyers would have to ponder over the legal lacuna arising from that the death of the APC candidate.

Now that no one has been validly elected, is there a legal basis for INEC to still hold a supplementary election in the local government areas where elections could not hold before the demise of Audu? Would it on its own invoke the doctrine of necessity to allow the deputy governorship candidate to become the governorship candidate for the purpose of concluding the elections?

Would it allow the principle established by the Supreme Court that political parties and not the candidates contest elections to be invoked to save the election? And could this apply in an election that is inconclusive? Would INEC conclude that the death of Audu has doomed the whole election and a fresh nomination has to be made by the APC for a fresh election?
These and many more questions are begging for answers. The only institution that can provide answers is the judiciary. But more importantly, does INEC even have the luxury of time to take the case before the court?



http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/inec-weighs-its-options-on-kogi-lawyers-disagree/226453o be made by the APC for a fresh election?
These and many more questions are begging for answers. The only institution that can provide answers is the judiciary. But more importantly, does INEC even have the luxury of time to take the case before the court?



Is not true that d name of d candidate is on d ballot.Only d name of d party nd their logo was.nd it is a joint ticket.many voted for audu nd many voted for faleke

Is dis a long queue?Come to d mega station in Felele Lokoja nd see d mother of all queues.D longest in Naija history

Nd in one of d tweets she said all men must die!xo wats spectacular about d remaining tweets?are all men not goin to die?If she is talkin about d male gender won't d female men die 2?if not them allmen will die weda female or male!Yesterday it was Audus turn.wu knows whose turn it is today?tomoro nd oda days?nd am sure Audu was not d only one that dies yesterday all over

DONSMITH123:
Lawyers yesterday told the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) that the death of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) does not invalide the on-going election in the state.

They urged INEC to allow the deputy governorship candidate of the APC, Abiodun Faleke, to conclude the on-going election.

The former Chairman of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch, Monday Ubani; a member of the Ogun State Judiciary Service Commission, Abayomi Omoyinmi and a lecturerý of Law at University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, Wahab Shittu said the process should be concluded.

Ubani said: “Since the Electoral Act didn’t specifically provide for things like this happening in the course of an election, we would have to make recourse to the judicial pronouncement in the case of Rotimi Amaechi where the Supreme Court said in an election, it is the political party that is the beneficiary of election and not the candidate. That is why Amaechi that didn’t contest elections was sworn in.

“In this situation, the deputy governorship candidate would have to step in to conclude the process. If he wins the election, the APC would then decide on another deputy for him”.

According to Ubani, the time to choose a candidate through primary election had lapsed for all the political parties and it is not possible for any of the parties to go for primaries anymore.

Omoyinmi said: “In the eyes of the law, the deputy should ordinarily conclude the re-run election for the office of the governor and it is now left for him to pick a new running mate”.

Omoyinmi said the kind of situation in Kogi was not envisaged.

Shittu said the matter could be viewed from different perspectives.

Shittu said since the election was declared inconclusive, the running mate should be allowed to step in and conclude the process of the supplementary election.

This, he said, has become necessary because the electoral law did not envisage such an incident–Audu’s death.

On the other perspective, he said since it is the ýparty that fields the candidate, and that since the election has turned this way, the party would have to replace the governorship candidate.

“Which means that election might be conducted afresh. The death of a candidate during the process of an election automatically voids the election. It is not a question of an election being inconclusive. The entire electoral process is now altered with the death of the governorship candidate,” he said.

Constitutional lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Malam Yusuf Ali said the situation in Kogi is “very complex, because the election has been declared inconclusive”.

He said: “If he had won the election outright, it would have been a different matter, but with the way things are, it is very delicate.”

Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN) said: “There can be fresh election. INEC can only conduct supplementary election in the 91 polling units. The death of Audu cannot nullify the election. It was APC that contested the governorship election not Audu as an individual.”

Akintola explained that it is left to the APC to pick another candidate from among those that contested the governorship primary with Audu or ask the deputy governorship candidate, James Faleke to take over.

“The decision lies with the APC,” he added.

The presidential candidate of the United Progressive Party (UPP) in the last general elections, Chief Chekwas Okorie, said it was a very shocking development that threw everybody off-balance.

He said: “ From every indication, it is a political party that wins an election; the result so far released suggests that the people of Kogi State are favourably disposed to an APC government to be in-charge of affairs in the next four years. What it therefore means is that the APC still has a chance, even his death, to govern the state, based on the result already declared.

“So, they should follow up the supplementary election with the same atmosphere of peace that we witnessed in last Saturday’s election. If their choice is the APC, then let the APC rule them in the next four years.”

Cc: lalasticlala

http://thenationonlineng.net/lawyers-to-inec-death-of-apc-candidate-does-not-invalidate-election/

even Boni haruna became d Gov of Adamawa state witout winnin an election.Cos Abubakar Atiku who won was chosen as the running mate to Obasanjo

[quote author=Baboo13 post=40311545][/quote]was Audus or wadas name printed on d ballot?Only d partys logo nd names were on d ballot nd d party is d one that nominated d candidates.is inec empowered to annul an inconclusive elections?Elections must be completed an a winner declared.Apc definitely is leading nd will win.xo Faleke becomes d winner

Disagreeing wit this writer on this.First Audu alone cannot choose a running mate.d imput of his party will be there.D election was not annuled.it was only declared inconclusive which is a gud development.Elections must be concluded by this Saturday nd a winner be declared.Anibody not satisfied will now go to court.not for d attorney general to approach d court.When Obasanjo chose Atiku as his vice president after Atiku had won d guber elections in Adamawa state.His deputy was sworn in as d Gov of Adamawa state witout going for interpretations in d supreme court..Even Wada was sworn as d Gov witout a recourse to d supreme court.D elections must be completed within one week nd a winner emerged.Inec is not empoweed to cancel an inconclusive election.

Bluetooth2:
There's no twist anywhere. Even if Audu was alive and declared winner, the PDP would still have contested the decision in court and won in the court's decision because the 49 000 disenfranchised voters are greater than the 41 000 differntials between the APC and the PDP.

It's simple logic bimbo and stop tripping over the shiiit about Tinunbu trying to make a yoruba man the governor of kogi state !

in d elections less than 40 percent of d voters turned up to vote.there is no way all this 49 thousand will come up nd vote wenever d supplementary elections holds nd definitely all of them won't vote for a particular candidate or party.APC lead will still be there.Inec only avoided declaring a winner to avoid losingat d tribunal which me -not a lawyer-can win at any court.Faleke will be sworn in as d next gov of kogi state

Even lawyers-both sans nd d junior ones-have divergent views.am not a lawyer but I know that Audu was not on d ballot but apc.I also know that there is a deputy guber candidate.I still know that a deputy bt law take over when d untoward happens.it is common knowledge that an election was held nd that results were declared.An inconclusive elections is not d same as annuled election.xo d elections must be completed before this saturday.ND a WINNER must be declared.

Politicians wen they start complaining about d process u know they know they have lost.am suspecting that now.Wada must hv lost this election.It is intresting howeva to hear him today after inec would have declared d result.Lose they complain.Win they praise d system!I pity those wu believe in them

MyMouth:
And the DG na Igbo man ooo!

wooosai!Igbo ke?D man na from Biafra oo

Itzjoy:
I was too pretty to b flogged ......

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!Xo how were they punishing u?Am not saying wat u are thinking ooo.xo don't be mad at me ooo wit u xo preeeeetie

I don't know wu d teacher represents but d student am sure represent u and Seun.Abi na lie?

Deefuray:
The man is fine sha

hmmmmmmmMmmmmmmm.I hope u are not thinking wat I think that u are thinking?Anyway sha d youngman as a muslim is entitled to 4

Is d Abia Gov an APC member?D last time some people were saying Buhari is controlling d Tribunal.Thank God for Ikpeazu Buhari has asked d tribunal to declare him winner.Long live APC!Long live Buhari nd Long live Ikpeazu d APC gov of Abia

obongtunji:
This got me laughing, but at your request only if you are viewing for your son.

Nd d cute baby resemble d mama.Thank God she no be like him papa!I have a son for her!!Wen we go come with d wine?

I hope that is not y retailers are selling mtn 100 naira recharge card for 120 nd 200 for 220 now in Lokoja?

The directive which was sent to all zonal heads in the state said, “the ministry hereby directs all public and private primary and secondary schools across the state to suspend all assemblies (morning and afternoon) till further notice.” This op is a mischief maker ooo.is suspendin assembly d same thing as suspending prayers?Didn't op go to skul?was d only thing they do then on assembly only prayers?

Madam Oby is right u know.D irony is dat d pdp just did a face saving action by walking out.That's to show those prodding them on that they tried.D first person Amaechi shook after his screening was Akpabio!They even hugged!D most senoir pdp member there didn't walk outwit his member.Ekweremadu sat tru d confirmation!Did anybody see David Mark?I didn't thou

Join d lion in celabrations!

bugzbunny:
Wike has won already
Igbos are the majority in Rivers state
Viva PDP

The igbos said d same thing in Lagos state nd Ambode of APC won.hmmmmmmmmmmmm.I hope Dakuku of APC won't win 2 now u have said this?

Ugomba:
NONSENSE! How many APC governors have lost so far at the Tribunal?

how many opposition Govs lost during d pdps 16 years rule?Only pdp Govs had bn losin since 1999.What does that tell u?

When last did we have a female Head of service of d federation?

Nd in all dis what is d gain of d Rivers people?The money bn used by their leaders wuld have better their lives.In all it is a lose lose situation for d people.D lawyers all SAN are smiling to d banks.Only God knows how many millions of d peoples common wealth d leaders are using in dis needless litigations. My thoughts please

Nobody is blaming d president and d apc for this death! Just wonderin aloud ni oooooo. RIP to d dead!!

Nd d head luk like Seun's own abi na lie?

A very good one for d senate president nd d rule of law and d judiciary!I hope all we say this if d CCT also find d Senate president guilty later in d month!

TherE was a story about thunder Balogun in d 70's.He was saidto have taken a penalty kick that went through d goalkeepers tummy and came out from his back to enter d net,wen d unnamed keeper tried to stop d kick!!!That was hw popular nd dreaded thunder Balogun was.unveried yet believed by many in those days.d man was awesome nd a legend

I'm a teacher..............
Behind that doctor,
Is me, a teacher...........
Behind that economist,
Is me, a teacher..........
Above those astronomers,Is me, a teacher..............
I carry the light even though they mostly make jokes
of me...........
But i am a teacher........
I don't qualify for a RDP house nor earn enough to
buy an expensive one.............
But yes, i am a teacher...........
Some think or even say that i have too many holidays,
never knowing that i spend those holidays either
correcting papers or planning what and how I'm
going to teach when i go back to school........
Because i am a teacher..,
sometimes i get confused and even get stressed by
the ever changing policies by the politicians who have
political powers over what and how i have to
teach.......
Despite all that i am a teacher and i have to teach and
i'm teaching.............
On pay days i don't laugh as others do, but by the
next day i have to come with a smile to those that i
teach........... Because i'm a teacher.........
The main source of my satisfaction is when i see
them growing, succeeding, having all those assets,
bravely facing the world and its challenges,
and i say yes i've taught inspite of living in a world
opened by Google..
Because i am a teacher............
Yes i am a teacher........
It doesn't matter how they look at me,
it doesn't matter how much more they earn than me,
it doesn't matter that they drive while I walk
because all what they have is through me, a teacher..
Whether they acknowledge me or not......to all IDEAL TEACHERS not CHEATERS,HAPPY TEACHERS DAY.

Still the same The good the bad the Segun Arinze

Y is dis strange to u pple.Be aware that d Nigeria police train bank drivers nd issue them wit police I'd nd uniform.That's y u see bank drivers on police uniform.my wory here is dat d youngman should not be using d uniform as he is no longer an employee of d bank.but d story saysd bank is still payin him is salary.then that makes him still an employee nd can still wear d uniform.Another thing I know is dat d bank drivers don't hv ranks.xo I wonder where he got his own.aniway d gov must hv had cause to interactwit senior police officers xo y was he not challenged?

Nd wat did Ndi Igbo gain from Anyim Pius Anyim as d Secretary in d Jonathan govt?infact wat did Ndi Igbo gain from Ezeifes participations in governance?