Kogi election: Wada heads to court

A new twist has been added to the debacle in Kogi State incon­clusive governorship elections and the sudden death of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Abubakar Audu, with a request by the incumbent governor Idris Wada before a federal high court in Abuja to stop the December 5 supplementary poll already fixed by INEC.
The latest development comes on the heels of a call by one of the gubernatorial aspirants on the platform of APC, Alhaji Idris Usman Maiyanga, who said he should be endorsed as the party’s candidate for the supplementary elections slated for Decem­ber 5, 2015.
He also claimed that he came second in the party primaries that produced the late Audu as the candidate in the election and, he is the pillar of the party in the state who has nurture the party to its present status.
Maiyanga who has requested the party and Independent National Electoral Com­mission (INEC) to instead of taking the pains of conducting supplementary elec­tions in the state should endorse him to re­place the late Abubakar Audu.
In a letter to INEC, National Chairman of the party, Odigie Oyegun, President Mu­hammadu Buhari, leader of the party, Asi­waju Ahmed Tinubu and chairman of the state chapter of the party, he is requesting the leadership of both the party and INEC to get him as a replacement to the late Alhaji Abubakar Audu to run remaining supple­mentary election on December 5, 2015, as, according to him, he will douse all tension that may arise out of wrong decision.
This is coming when the state governor, Captain Idris Ichala Wada and his political platform, the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] have asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] from con­ducting/ holding a supplementary governor­ship election in the state fixed for December 5, 2015 or any other date at all.
Alternatively, the governor is seeking a consequential order of court directing INEC to conduct fresh governorship election in Kogi State within a specified period.
In a motion on notice filed at the regis­try of the court by his counsel, Chief Chris Uche [SAN], Governor Wada is contending that being the only surviving candidate with majority of lawful votes cast at the gover­norship election held on November 21, 2015, he is the winner of the said election and ought to be issued a certificate of return by the INEC.
He further asked from the court, an order restraining the All Progressives Congress [APC] or its officers and members from organising and / or holding a fresh primary election for the purpose of any supplemen­tary or other election for the Kogi State gov­ernorship election 2015.
In the alternative, the plaintiff prayed the court to declare that by reason of the death of Prince Abubakar Audu, the candidate of the APC, the Kogi State governorship election held on November 21, 2015 and declared by the INEC [1st defendant] as in­conclusive has been rendered aborted, can­celled, null and void and of no legal effect whatsoever.
The plaintiffs further asked the court to declare that having regards to the provisions of section 141 of the Electoral Act, 2010 [as amended], votes scored by a candidate who died during an election cannot be inherited by or transferred to a person, who was not a candidate at the said election and who did not participate in all stages of such election, for the purpose of conducting such election.
Besides, the plaintiffs asked for a dec­laration that INEC public notice dated November 24, 2015 for the holding of a supplementary governorship election for Kogi State on December 5, 2015 is unlaw­ful, null and void and of no legal effect whatsoever.

FROM DENNIS MERNYI, ABUJA AND GODWIN TSA, ABUJA