Kogi Guber Stalemate Gets Messier As Gov Wada Asks Court To Stop Supplementary Poll

Kogi 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 with a certificate of return by the INEC.

He further asked from the court, an injunctive order restraining the All Progressives Congress [APC] by itself or its officers and members from organizing 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.

In his originating summons dated November 26, 2015, the plaintiffs posed the following questions for the determination by the court:

• Whether in view of section 178 t0 181 of the 1999 constitution [as amended] and sections 31, 33, 34, 36, 85, 87 of the Eectoral Act 2010 [as amended], the public notice issued by INEC dated November 24, 2015 for the holding of a second/supplementary governorship election for Kogi state on December 5, 2015 outside the mandatory electoral timeline is not unlawful, null, void and of no legal effect whatsoever.
• Whether INEC as an Independent body and expected unbiased umpire can unilaterally act in liaison with the 3rd defendant [APC] to the exclusion of other political parties that participated in the governorship election in kogi State, particularly the 2nd plaintiff [PDP] on November 21, 2015 and thereafter issue a public notice dated November 24, 2015 fixing supplementary election in Kogi State on December 5, 2015 and allowing the 3rd defendant to fill the vacancy created by the death of its candidate on the pretext of being notified by the 3rd defendant of the death of its governorship candidate on the election.
• Whether having regard to section 179 [2][3][4] and [5] of the 1999 constitution, the INEC can lawfully conduct a second/supplementary election into the office of Governor of Kogi State on December 5, 2015 with candidate [s] other than the original candidates’ who contested the said election declared by the INEC as inconclusive.
• Whether having regard to the mandatory provisions of section 31[1] and [8] of the electoral Act 2010, the APC can lawfully nominate/ substitute another candidate for the supplementary governorship election for Kogi Stae, later than 60 days to the December 5, 205 appointed for the said supplementary election.
• Whether in view of the extant provisions of section 179 [2][3][4] and [5] of the constitution and the Electoral Act, 2010 and having regard to the doctrine of necessity, the 1st plaintiff [Wada] neing the only surviving candidate with the majority of lawful votes casts at the Kogi State governorship election held on November 21, 2015 and having also secured not less than one-quarter of the votes cast in two-thirds of all the local Government Areas in Kogi State, ought not to be declared and returned by the 1st defendant as the winner of the said election. No date has been fixed for the hearing of the case.