Review… Kogi election: Contending forces dig deep

In from Timothy Enietan-Matthews . . .

The death of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the Kogi election, Prince Abubakar Audu no doubt opened up a barrage of controversies, options and differing legal opinions. These controversies are yet to abate, or put to rest.

Prior to the pronouncement of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) asking the APC to replace the late Audu, an unprecedented constitutional crisis was expected, with fears that a stalemate was in the offing. However, with INEC’S pronouncement, though still regarded as contentious, the burden was squarely pushed on the APC, a burden the party did not find easy to discharge.

Added to this was Thursday’s letter by Audu’s running mate, Hon. James Abioudun Faleke to INEC, asking that he be declared winner of the election.

In the letter written on his behalf by Wole Olanipekun, SAN, the two term member of the House of Representatives insisted that his position is supported by Section 187 of the Nigerian Constitution.

The party, however, in its wisdom, decided to pick the first runner up in the August primary that produced late Audu, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, as replacement. Though the decision of the party has been hailed in different quarters as the reasonable thing to do, it did not come easy for the party.

According to sources close to the national leadership of the APC, deciding on a replacement for Audu was a battle between different forces seeking to take firm control of the ruling party. It was akin to the famous battle fought for the soul of the National Assembly in the process that threw up its presiding leaders.

Sources have it that the battle was between pro Bola Ahmed Tinubu elements and those opposed to his intimidating stature in the party. For these two groups, allowing Hon. James Abiodun Faleke to inherit the ticket left behind by Audu would be expanding the sphere of Tinubu’s influence and empowering him the more.

As welcome as Yahaya Bello’s choice may be to many, especially those from the Central Senatorial District of Kogi State, his emergence as replacement candidate also comes with its own challenges.

Power shift

If there is any issue that dominated the politics of Kogi State as the governorship election was being prepared for, it was the agitation for power shift from the Eastern zone of the state to either Central or Western zones.

The Igalas of the Eastern zone had dominated governance in the state since it was created and had used the majority status to relegate other zones in the areas of political appointments, civil service employment and citing of government projects among others.

The agitation for power shift however lost its vigour when Yahaya Bello lost the APC ticket to late Audu. So the decision of the national leadership of APC is seen by many as getting through the back door, what the central and western zones could not get originally.

The challenge however is that with this decision and the fact that Faleke has been retained by the party as running mate, the Igalas have lost out completely in the power equation; losing the office of governor,  deputy governor and speaker of the State House of Assembly. How well this goes down with them is left to be seen. How an ethnic group that has always been used to power and also vowed that no other ethnic group in the state can ever be governor, will cooperate with a government from which they are shut out in this manner can only be imagined.

Read also: Audu is dead, declare us winner, Wada, PDP beg court

Yahaya Bello’s alleged anti-party activities

The decision to pick Yahaya Bello is expected to attract scathing criticism from ardent supporters of the APC in Kogi State, as tales abound of his alleged anti-party activities before and during last Saturday’s election.

It is on record that Bello stayed aloof of all electioneering campaigns of the APC before last Saturday, apparently because he was not happy that he lost the ticket to Audu. Before then,  he had been rumoured to have contemplated moving to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to pick the party’s ticket but was obviously prevailed upon not to waste his money and time in pursuing an ambition that cannot actualize on the SDP platform.

Kogi APC sources also alleged that Bello actually worked against Audu during the election. They accused him of collecting money running into multiple millions of naira from the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governor Idris Wada, for mobilization of the electorate in his central zone, leading to PDP winning Okene Local Government Area where he hails from.

The question is; should Bello now inherit the votes he allegedly worked against? Can a man accused to have worked against the success of his party be made the beneficiary of that same success?

The legality of Audu’s replacement

A major concern among Nigerians is the legality of the waver INEC gave the APC to choose a replacement for its dead candidate.

It has been reasoned in several quarters that INEC erred by using its discretion to allow the party to choose a replacement instead of seeking judicial interpretation of the relevant laws guiding the electoral process in the country. This discretion, analysts say may have grave repercussions if and when those aggrieved by the decision approach the courts.

Already, Audu’s running mate is agitating that he should be declared winner and may as well go to court to claim a mandate he believes is his, while incumbent Governor Wada is already in court, asking to be declared duly elected.

Whichever way this is viewed, political and legal fireworks are imminent in the days ahead!

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