James Faleke to INEC: 'I’m governor-elect of Kogi state'

James Faleke, the running mate to late Abubakar Audu,
the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in
Saturday's governorship election in Kogi State, has
asked the Independent National Electoral Commission,
INEC, to declare him governor elect.



According to Premium Times Faleke, in a November 26
letter to INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, insisted
that under Section 187 of the 1999 Constitution, he
was duly elected as deputy governor of Kogi State.


After expressing sadness over the demise of his
principal, Abubakar Audu, the deputy governorship
candidate said INEC had no right under the law to
declare the election inconclusive.
He accused INEC of deliberately creating what he
called "legal conundrum" and urged the APC not to be
a party to the action.


"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
his counsel, Wole 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 the election had already being won and lost,
and that the party should rather support him in
actualizing the mandate already given to APC and its
candidates.