Kogi APC crisis: Faleke, Bello’s supporters’ clash shuts Abuja; I reject running mate position — Faleke

The squabbles over who replaces the late Prince Abubakar Audu as flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)-ordered supplementary poll in Kogi State, December 5, came to a head in Abuja, Monday, when supporters of the two main actors in the controversy took to the streets as they engaged in a violent clash.

The fracas which occurred just outside the APC national secretariat in Abuja caused a major stampede among residents and passers-by as dangerous weapons were deployed by both the supporters of the late Audu’s running mate,  James Abiodun Falake in the original November governorship elections as well as those backing the new party favourite, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.

Both candidates had been summoned to the party secretariat by chieftains to arrive at a compromise candidate.

The crisis now rocking the Kogi State APC had started when Faleke had written to the INEC asking the electoral body to declare him duly elected as governor following the death of Prince Audu, as well as cancellation of the proposed supplementary election.

However, a group of stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress in the Kogi East Senatorial zone had last week met in Lokoja, the state capital decalring that the late Prince Audu’s son, Mohammed Audu be adopted by the party to stand in the election of December 5.

This was even as another group within the party threw its weight behind Bello.

Meanwhile, Faleke is said to have also obtained the backing of prominent individuals in the state, who in turn expressed their support for the running mate of the late Prince Audu.

Though it remains unclear the stand of Faleke on the issue with regards to whether he insists on INEC declaring him winner or APC adopting him as the proffered candidate for the supplementary elections.

Monday’s incident saw supporters carrying sticks and stones tearing at each other freely with the policemen on ground looking helpless and unable to curtail them.

Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai who arrived the secretariat about the time the supporters were beginning to go violent had to abandon his car at the gate and enter the secretariat on foot.

A detachment of heavily armed Mobile policemen had to be drafted to the APC secretariat to bring the situation under control.

Bello had arrived the APC secretariat with his supporters at about 2.45pm and immediately went into the office of the National Secretary, while his supporters practically blocked the gate of the secretariat chanting Sai Yahaya Bello and carrying placard.

As early as 9.00, security had been beefed up at the secretariat with sources saying that the leadership had information that hired crowd were clearing to the secretariat from Kogi to come and protest at the secretariat.

The meeting of the party leadership with stakeholder of the party in Kogi state which was earlier scheduled to begin at about 10.00am however did not start until about 4.00pm.

The meeting had in attendance Alhaji Yahaya Bello, James Abiodun Faleke, Nasir el-Rufai who was chairman of the panel that conducted the Kogi governorship primary of the party, Senator Dino Melaye, Senator Mohammed Okhiare among other APC leaders from Kogi state.

However, adding more drama to the controversy, and in anticipation of the outcome of the meeting, Faleke has distanced himself from any resolution of the party which involves him standing as running mate to Bello in the December 5 poll.

In a letter titled; “Re: My Purported Nomination As Deputy Governor,” to the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, Faleke rejected his nomination as Bello’s running mate in the December 5 Supplementary Governorship election in Kogi State

“Information at my disposal from the National Secretary of our party, the All Progressives Congress and my telephone conversation with your good self, confirmed to me that the party had issued INEC form and submitted my name as running mate to Alhaji Yahaya Bello in the forthcoming unusual and strange supplementary election scheduled for 5th December, 2015, covering 91 polling units in Kogi State to elect a “supplementary governor”.

“Mr. Chairman, you may recall that an election was conducted on the 21st November 2015, in which I was running mate to the late Prince Abubakar Audu: I therefore remain fully committed to that joint ticket which received the blessings of the party leadership, including your good self, evident from your attendance at the campaign rallies to ensure total victory for your great party through which the people of Kogi State massively and overwhelmingly voted for us.

“Following the demise of my principal after the announcement of results from the polling units, wards, local government areas and the state, our party had highest number of votes of 240, 867 against PDP’s 199, 514, thus creating a difference of 41, 353 votes between the two leading parties. On the strength of this, I hereby state clearly that I remain the governor-elect of Kogi State on the platform of our great party.”

“I wish to put it on record that I was neither consulted by anybody before my name was submitted as running mate to a man who has since the conduct of primaries, abandoned the party, took the party to court, worked for the PDP, thereby causing our party to lose his polling unit 80 votes to his ally party PDPs 116, repeating same feat at the Ward level with APC scoring 1,146 to PDP’s 2,058.

“While it is true that the said Alhaji Yahaya Bello participated in our party primaries, its trite that party primaries are conducted to produce a candidate and once a candidate is produced, the congress, being an ad-hoc tool for that purpose, should automatically extinguish.

“It is clear from this injustice, that our party is on the path of rewarding disloyalty and discourage loyalty through this act of impunity for which we all fought the PDP.

“It may also interest you Mr. Chairman Sir, that the said Yahaya Bello, since the conduct of the primaries, had been aloof from party activities as it is on record that he did not attend a single meeting or campaign rally of the party.

“Mr. Chairman Sir, I am sure that it is neither in your interest, nor that of the party in particular and the public in general to lord an illegality on the people of Kogi State.

“Please, take note that I am not interested in surrendering the mandate the people of Kogi State bestowed on the Audu/Faleke joint ticket at the November 21 poll as I remain the governor-elect.

“I believe in the leadership of our great party to resolve this in the shortest possible time, failure upon which I shall be forced to seek redress in the court of law.”

Prince Abubakar Audu died, penultimate Sunday, as results of the election were being announced by INEC, leading to the electoral body to schedule a supplementary election for December 5 in the disputed areas of the state which the commission had faulted results.

Spokesman for the leaders of the party in the Kogi senatorial zone, Mr Daniel Isah, who is the Vice Chairman of APC in Kogi East, said  that the decision to present Audu’s son Mohammed, 43, was arrived at after due consultations.

According to him, they have resolved and are determined to back Mohammed to replace his father if the National Working Committee orders fresh primaries.

Isah thanked the Independent National Electoral Commission and the national leadership of the party for the opportunity given to them to find a replacement for Audu who died on 23 November at Ogbonicha, Ofu Local Government.

However, Faleke, in the letter through his lawyer, last Thursday, Wole Olaonipekun, maintained that “the election had been concluded and completed in compliance with the provision of the constitution”.

He said INEC’s decision to declare the election inconclusive was “unconstitutional”.

“The election was held in all the 21 local government areas of the state: and to the best of our knowledge, information and belief, the said election was peaceful, and also in substantial conformity and compliance with the provisions of the electoral act, m2010 (as amended).

INEC had explained that the margin of votes between the two leading contenders was less than the number of cancelled votes, in contravention of a provision of the electoral act. Audu, who was leading the election, polled 240,861 votes, while his key opponent, Idris Wada, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), secured 199,514 votes. The margin between the two results was 41,353, while the total number of cancelled votes was 49,953.

Emmanuel Kucha, the returning officer, explained that supplementary election will hold across 91 polling units in 18 local government areas. Subsequently, INEC scheduled the fresh poll for December 5 and asked APC to replace Audu. But Faleke expressed dissatisfaction, saying he ran on a joint ticket with the deceased, and it will be improper to give the votes already cast in the substantive election to a fresh candidate.

“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,” the letter read.

“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. “Our client believes that election to the office of governor of Kogi state had been conducted and completed in accordance with the provisions of the constitution. Therefore, INEC has no alternative or discretion other than to announce the result of the election and declare our client as the winner.

“INEC is enjoined to declare a winner of an election based on lawful votes cast. Thus, the cancelled results by INEC, for whatever reasons, and assuming without conceding that INEC could legitimately cancel such results, amount to unlawful votes.

“In effect, INEC cannot declare a well conducted election as inconclusive based on unlawful votes. INEC is inadvertently prompting an avoidable political and legal crisis. What INEC should do is to obey, respect and comply with the letters, spirit, intendment and tenor of the constitution, by not only declaring APC as the winner of the election, but by also declaring our client as the governor-elect.

” Already, the PDP has asked the electoral body to declare its candidate winner on the grounds that the death of Audu left the APC with “no valid candidate”. On the other hand, the APC in Kogi east has nominated Audu’s first son to replace him in the supplementary poll, while the leadership of the party is planning to hold a fresh primary, which about 27 APC candidates have declared interest to participate in,” the letter continued.