₦airaland Forum

PassingShot:
But Barcanista earlier claimed such primary will be illegal. Though I hope he is given the chance to be the governor.

TonyeBarcanista:
Since the death of Audu Abubakar, the Governorship candidate of APC and the leading candidate in the yet-to-be concluded Kogi state Governorship election, tongues have been wagging and opinions have been divided on what should be the next line with respect to the said election. To some, the election should be outrightly cancelled because the Governorship candidate of APC is gone. To some others, the APC should be disqualified for having 'No Candidate', while some others opined that the APC should nominate a new governorship candidate to complete the process.

Firstly, the election can't be cancelled because INEC has NO power according to the Electoral Act (2010) and the 1999 Constitution to cancel any election when declared. It lies with the COURT. The only way election can be cancelled is when both the Governorship and Deputy Governorship candidates of a political party dies. In this case, the Deputy Governorship candidate of APC, James Faleke is still alive. Hence, INEC has no choice but to continue with the process.

Secondly, APC followed the legal process in the nomination of Audu Abubakar and Hon James Faleke as the Governorship and Deputy Governorship candidates respectively. The Electoral Act never prescribe disqualification of political party on account of death of its Governorship or Deputy Governorship candidate. Considering that the Electoral Act and Supreme Court judgement maintained that political parties not candidates stand for election, it simply means APC remains in the race and in pole position to form new Kogi state government when Idris Wada's tenure elapse despite the demise of Audu.

Why Hon James Faleke Should Succeed Audu
That established, the next is who should succeed Audu Abubakar as APC candidate? Let us recall that the Electoral Act and Constitution was silent on what should happen in the event that a Governor-elect denounce his mandate before his inauguration as at 1998. When Atiku Abubakar rescinded his mandate for the VP candidate of Segun Obasanjo of PDP, INEC felt there was need for a fresh PDP candidate for a new election. PDP and the Adamawa state Deputy-Gov-elect Boni Haruna as then was went to court. The SC ruled that PDP won the election with Atiku/Haruna as candidates, and in the eyes of the law, Atiku was 'dead'. Hence, Haruna should replace Atiku as PDP Governorship candidate and be sworn-in as Adamawa state Governor. After the judgement, the Electoral Act and Constitution were amended to reflect the SC interpretation. In this situation, considering the fact that the law allows for the Deputy to succeed his/her boss in the event of death of the Governor-elect (after election has been concluded) and the Governor (after inauguration), it is only normal and in accordance with the positions of the SC judgements and the law tthat Hon James Faleke, the APC Kogi state Deputy Governorship candidate be upgraded to the substantive Governorship-candidate of APC, while the party nominates a new running mate.

The Position of Running Mate Is For Purpose Like This
We also have to realise that the purpose of running mate is not to 'fill space' but to step-in in case of any eventuality of the main candidate. This is why the VP assumes the role of President in event of death, and not the runner-up in the Presidential election. It is also the reason the VP-elect assume the position of President-elect in event of death of the President-elect and not the runner-up of the election. This is same reason the APC Deputy Governorship-candidate of Kogi state (James Faleke) will/should assume the position of Governorship-candidate and not the runner-up in the APC Primary election. Hence, the APC should 'do the needful and nominate a new Deputy-Gov candidate.

A Fresh Primary Is Illegal and Unconstitutional
However, should APC elect for a fresh primary, then that will amount to illegality as no section of the Electoral Act and the Constitution give room for primary when election is ongoing. I believe that the court will nullify it. It is my belief that the only legitimate thing is for Faleke to be made the candidate.

Why I'm Behind Hon James Faleke's Ascension:
My position on this subject is precipitated on the need for being on the side of justice irrespective of who the beneficiary may be. Justice is justice, there is no basis for opposing justice because it doesn't favor our ethnic or political scheme. For those against Faleke on basis of his non-Igala heritage, I urge you to accept the new development for in the interest of the state.




May God Bless Us All and Bless Kogi state.

adanny01:
Chai, Folake nyash too big that i got used to her name and confused her with Faleke.

udeh3:
One can only go to jail when the killer of the aspirant is known... What about a suituation where the killer is not caught in the act?

This issue is a very sensitive one and used be treated as such

2sex:
bros, shey BARCA don port back to APC ni?

miqos02:
inec has no power to "suspend" elections

baralatie:
Neither does inec have the power to substitute the name of a candidate at the polling booth but can approach the court to cancel the election.

miqos02:
no court will an election, unless there is an evidence of violence or rigging

baralatie:
And the where in the constitution did inec get judicial powers to substitute the name of a candidate on a polling booth.......
Where postion
a[b],inec had already declared the elections "inconclusive"...no winner[/b]
b,the candidate now dies

miqos02:
what happens to votes that have been casted,counted and recorded by inec?

TonyeBarcanista:
Since the death of Audu Abubakar, the Governorship candidate of APC and the leading candidate in the yet-to-be concluded Kogi state Governorship election, tongues have been wagging and opinions have been divided on what should be the next line with respect to the said election. To some, the election should be outrightly cancelled because the Governorship candidate of APC is gone. To some others, the APC should be disqualified for having 'No Candidate', while some others opined that the APC should nominate a new governorship candidate to complete the process.

Firstly, the election can't be cancelled because INEC has NO power according to the Electoral Act (2010) and the 1999 Constitution to cancel any election when declared. It lies with the COURT. The only way election can be cancelled is when both the Governorship and Deputy Governorship candidates of a political party dies. In this case, the Deputy Governorship candidate of APC, James Faleke is still alive. Hence, INEC has no choice but to continue with the process.

Secondly, APC followed the legal process in the nomination of Audu Abubakar and Hon James Faleke as the Governorship and Deputy Governorship candidates respectively. The Electoral Act never prescribe disqualification of political party on account of death of its Governorship or Deputy Governorship candidate. Considering that the Electoral Act and Supreme Court judgement maintained that political parties not candidates stand for election, it simply means APC remains in the race and in pole position to form new Kogi state government when Idris Wada's tenure elapse despite the demise of Audu.

Why Hon James Faleke Should Succeed Audu
That established, the next is who should succeed Audu Abubakar as APC candidate? Let us recall that the Electoral Act and Constitution was silent on what should happen in the event that a Governor-elect denounce his mandate before his inauguration as at 1998. When Atiku Abubakar rescinded his mandate for the VP candidate of Segun Obasanjo of PDP, INEC felt there was need for a fresh PDP candidate for a new election. PDP and the Adamawa state Deputy-Gov-elect Boni Haruna as then was went to court. The SC ruled that PDP won the election with Atiku/Haruna as candidates, and in the eyes of the law, Atiku was 'dead'. Hence, Haruna should replace Atiku as PDP Governorship candidate and be sworn-in as Adamawa state Governor. After the judgement, the Electoral Act and Constitution were amended to reflect the SC interpretation. In this situation, considering the fact that the law allows for the Deputy to succeed his/her boss in the event of death of the Governor-elect (after election has been concluded) and the Governor (after inauguration), it is only normal and in accordance with the positions of the SC judgements and the law tthat Hon James Faleke, the APC Kogi state Deputy Governorship candidate be upgraded to the substantive Governorship-candidate of APC, while the party nominates a new running mate.

The Position of Running Mate Is For Purpose Like This
We also have to realise that the purpose of running mate is not to 'fill space' but to step-in in case of any eventuality of the main candidate. This is why the VP assumes the role of President in event of death, and not the runner-up in the Presidential election. It is also the reason the VP-elect assume the position of President-elect in event of death of the President-elect and not the runner-up of the election. This is same reason the APC Deputy Governorship-candidate of Kogi state (James Faleke) will/should assume the position of Governorship-candidate and not the runner-up in the APC Primary election. Hence, the APC should 'do the needful and nominate a new Deputy-Gov candidate.

A Fresh Primary Is Illegal and Unconstitutional
However, should APC elect for a fresh primary, then that will amount to illegality as no section of the Electoral Act and the Constitution give room for primary when election is ongoing. I believe that the court will nullify it. It is my belief that the only legitimate thing is for Faleke to be made the candidate.

Why I'm Behind Hon James Faleke's Ascension:
My position on this subject is precipitated on the need for being on the side of justice irrespective of who the beneficiary may be. Justice is justice, there is no basis for opposing justice because it doesn't favor our ethnic or political scheme. For those against Faleke on basis of his non-Igala heritage, I urge you to accept the new development for in the interest of the state.




May God Bless Us All and Bless Kogi state.

oladipupoi:
i still fail to agree,election is inconclusive, automatically there should be a supplementary, wich electoral law tells us to transfer votes from one candidate to anoda durin the course of the election.................kindly point that out
so even if inec and agf resolves it wada will still go to court based on this grounds

kosplateau:
Same way an Igbo man isn't allowed to become Nigerian president. Are u just waking up?

chinchum:
the 240,000+ votes didnt only belong to audu, it also belong to faleke, only if a fresh elections is conducted that faleke may not be considered as gubernatorial candidate, in fact more than 90% of the election has been concluded. it is also wrong to use 49,000 cancelled votes to justify the inconclusiveness of a 41000 margin lead election. A breakdown of who had what in the 49 000 cancelled votes would be appreciated e.g, pdp 29000 apc 20000

princemillla:
Bless you my brother @ Tonyebarcanista,..

I dare you to maintain this neutrality, it will save you lots of insults - which your posts are synonymous with.

TonyeBarcanista:
You don't conduct a fresh primaries or shoot up a non member of the party ticket as the party candidate in the middle of an election except when the whole exercise is cancelled-which however is not and can't be the case. So what is your argument? As long as this election continues, James Faleke is the APC candidate and not any runner-up in the primaries. In fact, had it been both Faleke and Audu died while election is ongoing, that means total cancellation of election and a fresh process will be kick-started. So whichever way, Hon James Faleke is the Governor-in-waiting

KwoiZabo:
You are not wise. You can only find neutral people in PDP unlike APC that is full of liars

princemillla:
Pls don't ever quote me again.... Its obvious you have problem with compression.

KwoiZabo:
do you mean compression or comprehension

gpublish:
Unfortunately, in all the cases(Yar Adua/GEJ, Obasanjo/Atiku) you cited above, election was concluded, candidates returned duly elected, and not inconclusive as in the case of Kogi. Also recall the case of Rotimi Amaechi, where the SC ruled for party supremacy over the candidate.
The deputy can only assume or step in when his governor or president has been returned elected,after concluded elections.
In this case, election is inconclusive, Faleke is not even deputy- governor designate so cannot step into the position of Governorship aspirant. Secondly, he did not contest for the party primaries as governor as grounded in the constitution. Opposition party can also sue against this if he is chosen by the party.

The onus now falls or rests with the party to select its candidate to replace Audu.