Time for Kogi to move forward
On Wednesday last week the Supreme Court dismissed the cases filed by Rep. Abiodun Faleke and former governor of Kogi State Captain Idris Wada challenging the election of Alhaji Yahaya Bello as Governor of Kogi State. This ruling puts to rest the political logjam that has lingered in the state since November last year. The […]
On Wednesday last week the Supreme Court dismissed the cases filed by Rep. Abiodun Faleke and former governor of Kogi State Captain Idris Wada challenging the election of Alhaji Yahaya Bello as Governor of Kogi State. This ruling puts to rest the political logjam that has lingered in the state since November last year.
The problem started with the sudden death on Sunday, November 22, last year of Prince Abubakar Audu, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). At the time of his death at Ogbonicha, Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State, counting of votes cast in the previous day’s election showed that Audu, a former governor of the state, was cruising to victory having scored 240,867. His closest challenger, PDP’s Governor Idris Wada had 199,514. The election was however declared inconclusive because INEC said the total number of cancelled votes, 49,953 in 91 polling units, was higher than the margin between the two leading candidates, 41,353.
All calculations were that Wada could not close Audu’s gap in a supplementary election. APC’s national headquarters picked Yahaya Bello, who finished second in its primary elections, to replace Audu at the head of its winning ticket. But Audu’s running mate James Abiodun Faleke resisted this, saying he ought to have been the replacement since the votes garnered in the election belonged to him and the deceased.
Perhaps the closest constitutional section that relates to such a scenario is Section 181 which states that (1) If a person duly elected as Governor dies before taking and subscribing the Oath of Allegiance and oath of office, or is unable for any reason whatsoever to be sworn in, the person elected with him as Deputy Governor shall be sworn in as Governor and he shall nominate a new Deputy-Governor who shall be appointed by the Governor with the approval of a simple majority of the House of Assembly of the State. Both the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal ruled in Bello’s favour and said the votes cast belonged to APC as a party. The Supreme Court’s seven-man panel led by Justice Sylvester Ngwata upheld this decision, which is consistent with its 2007 ruling on Rotimi Amaechi versus Celestine Omehia case in Rivers State. Wada’s prayer that he should be declared winner because Bello went for the supplementary election without a deputy was also thrown out.
After the ruling, Governor Bello extended an olive branch to Faleke and Wada, saying “I remain humble and magnanimous in victory and I, therefore, call on those who contested with me to join me in building a greater Kogi State.” On his part, Faleke said he had no regrets over his decision to challenge the outcome of the election up to the apex court, saying “it would amount to a betrayal of the sacred trust of the people who reposed implicit confidence in the Audu/Faleke ticket not to have defended the sanctity of their vote up till the apex court level.”
Wada said, “Without doubt, we shall serve as the polished metal for the compunction of government with the quality of opposition we will provide in the days ahead but it is our prayer that Governor Yahaya Bello and his aides will appreciate our advice and proposals in the overall interest of the Kogi people.” With the litigations over, what Kogi people need is good governance that will translate into food on their tables, affordable education and health through social and economic transformation. Governor Bello should set the pace by running an all-inclusive government through reaching out to all sections of the state. He has so far made many mistakes in his style of governance, which some attribute to youthful exuberance while others say it was due to pressure from the ongoing court cases. Now that the court cases are over, Alhaji Yahaya Bello should settle down and rule Kogi State wisely.