The running mate of the late candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Kogi governorship election, Mr James Faleke, has sued the INEC and his party a day after the late candidate was substituted.
Mr Faleke’s suit is consequent to the replacement of the late Abubakar Audu with Mr Yahaya Bello on Monday, retaining Mr Faleke as the new governorship candidate’s deputy.
After the November 21 election, the electoral body, the next day, declared the election inconclusive, saying that the margin between late Audu, leading in the election, and the candidate of the Peoples Democracy Party, who is the incumbent Governor, Captain Idris Wada, was less than the number of cancelled votes.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had asked the APC to substitute its late candidate before the supplementary election slated for December 5.
After the APC chose Mr Bello as late Audu’s substitute on Monday, Mr Faleke expressed his displeasure with the choice saying he would go to court.
Falake’s Suit
On Tuesday Mr Faleke filed a separate suit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the registry of Federal High Court in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
The matter is yet to be assigned to any judge.
Mr Faleke is asking the court to declare him the Governor-elect of Kogi State based on the outcome of the election.
In the suit filed by his counsel, Mr Wole Olanipekun, Faleke prayed the court to declare that election into the office of the governor of a state could only be conducted in the manner expressly stipulated in sections 179(2) (a), (b), (3) (a), (b), 4 (a), (b) and (5) of the constitution.
He also asked the court to grant an order setting aside INEC’s decision that the governorship election held in Kogi State on November 21, 2015 was inconclusive and the public notice dated November 24, 2015 titled ‘Kogi Governorship Election 2015’.
He requested an order of court mandating INEC to make a return, following the already announced results in the election.
In addition, Faleke also wants the court to grant an order of injunction restraining the INEC and APC from giving effect to or further acting on the decisions of INEC contained in its public notice.
