Faleke Sues INEC, Begs Court To Declare Him Kogi’s Governor-elect

The deputy governorship flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress
in the November 21 election in Kogi State, James Faleke, on Tuesday
filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Abuja, demanding his
declaration as governor-elect.

Faleke also wrote Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC
demanding the removal of his name as the running mate to Mr. Bello in
the supplementary election.
Recall that INEC had declared the election inconclusive. It ordered a
supplementary election which will hold on December 5.
Faleke had threatened to go to court following the adoption of Yahaya
Bello by the APC national leadership as the governorship candidate of
the party in the supplementary election.

Mr. Bello's adoption at the meeting of the National Working Committee
of the party followed the death of the former governorship candidate,
Abubakar Audu, on November 22.

The party immediately forwarded his name to INEC as replacement for
Mr. Audu and that of Mr. Faleke as his running mate.

In the suit filed by his counsel, Wole Olanipekun, Mr. Faleke, a
serving member of the House of Representatives, said contrary to the
claim by the electoral body, the election was conclusive and that as
the running mate to Mr. Audu, he should be declared winner.

The court papers were served on INEC Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Faleke said.

The deputy governorship candidate had written INEC on November 26,
insisting that he was the governor-elect following Mr. Audu's death.

He asked the Commission not to go ahead with the supplementary election.

"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," Mr. Faleke wrote
through Mr. Olanipekun.

"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."

In another letter to APC Chairman, John Oyegun, Mr. Faleke urged his
party to distance itself from the "Greek Gift" being offered to it to
nominate a new candidate for a planned supplementary election in 91
polling units. He said.

He added that the election had already been won and lost, and that the
party should rather support him in actualizing the mandate already
given to APC and its candidates.

According to the result declared by INEC, Mr. Audu had the highest
number of votes thus leading the 21 other candidates, including the
incumbent governor of Kogi State, Idris Wada, who was the flagbearer
of the Peoples Democratic Party.

-Vanguard