Anxiety, Tension As Kogi And Bayelsa Decide Today on gubernatorial victory

Just got this from the leadership newspaper this morning :

Ninety one polling stations would take part in
today's supplementary governorship
elections in Kogi State, following the
judgement of a Federal High Court In Abuja,
which declined jurisdiction over the multiple
cases filed by the candidates of the People's
Democratic Party, PDP Captain Idris Wada,
the Peoples Democratic Change, PDC and
Honourable James Faleke of the All
Progressives Congress, APC. In Bayelsa, the
battle line is drawn between PDP and the
APC. ANDREW OOTA writes on the state of
affairs in the two states.
The uncertainty over whether or not, the
Independent National Electoral Commission,
INEC would so along with the scheduled
supplementary elections in the 91 polling
stations of Kogi state today was settled by the
judgment of the Federal High Court presided
and delivered by Justice Gabriel Kolawole
who in a landmark judgement declined
jurisdiction and okayed that the commission
proceeds with the concluding part of the
election.
The incumbent governor of Kogi state and
candidate of the People's Democratic Party,
PDP in the November 21st, 2015 Captain Idris
Wada had approached the High Court to
compel INEC to declare him winner in the
inconclusive elections which, would have
stalled the conduct of the polls today.
Honourable James Faleke of the All
Progressives Congress, APC had also
approached the High Court challenging the
decision of the his party in choosing Mr.
Yahaya Bello as replacement for the late
candidate of the APC in the inconclusive
election , Prince Abubakar Audu in which he
was a running mate as well as to stop the
supplementary elections.
According to Justice Gabriel Kolawole only
the election petition tribunal had the
jurisdiction to hear the cases and further
permitted the Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC, to continue with the
supplementary election in the state, scheduled
for this Saturday, December 5.
His words, "Only the election petition can
entertain this case. The court does not have
the affirmation to make definitive
pronouncements," the judge averred.
Equally determined to stop today's
supplementary elections in Kogi before the
High Court ruling of yesterday was the
governorship candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Change, PDC, Emmanuel Daiko
who asked that the supplementary election be
declared illegal; and Raphael Igbokwe (a PDP
member of the House of Reps), who also
asked the court to order INEC (the first
defendant) to hold a fresh election in the
state.
Similarly, Johnson Jacob equally asked the
court to cancel the election. At its penultimate
sitting, the high court had consolidated the
various cases and reserved judgment in three
prayers sought for yesterday barely 24 hours
to the conduct of the supplementary polls.
As it stands, following the position of justice
Kolawole that beyond the issues of lack of
jurisdiction, it would amount to "idle judicial
indulgence to proceed with the suit", it
therefore means, the 91 polling units across
the state, where election results were
cancelled would return to the polls this
morning to decide.
According to the justice Kolawole , the
prayers sort by the candidates of the PDP,
PDC as well as the Honourable Faleke can
only be addressed by an election tribunal,
adding that the goal of the judgement is to
create a judicial and permissive order for
INEC to conduct supplementary polls where
the court does not have affirmative
declarative powers and jurisdiction.
While for Kogi state, it is a supplementary in
about 90 polling stations, the Independent
National Electoral Commission, INEC has
announced that both sensitive and non-
sensitive materials have arrived the state.
The late Audu was leading with total of 41,
000 votes before the cancellation of about 48,
000 votes stalled his victory. Prince Abubakar
Audu was said to have died shortly after the
Independent National Electoral Commission,
INEC temporarily put his victory on hold by
declaring the elections as inconclusive.
This decision and, death of the APC
candidate, Prince Audu created no small
anxiety and uncertainty in Kogi state and the
country at large owing to the fact that the
1999 constitution of Nigeria as amended and
the Electoral Act did not envisage such a
scenario, hence the commission was forced
to consult the Attorney General For the
Federation and Minister of Justice for advice,
although there were arguments in some
quarters that INEC ought to have approached
the Supreme Court, not an appointee whose
employer and, in this case, the President and
Commander -In -Chief is a member of the
APC and by implications, his judgement may
be biased and partisan.
Apparently based on the advice of the
Attorney General for the Federation and
Minister of Justice, the Independent National
Electoral Commission, INEC requested the
APC to replace the late Prince Abubakaar
Audu with another candidate who would
complete the race from where death
terminated the late Audu's ambition to, again
rule Kogi and the lots fell on Alhaji Yahaya
Bello, but late Audu's running mate,
Honourable James Faleke kicked, challenged
the decision of the party before an Abuja High
Court praying the court to declare him winner
of the November 21, 2015 governorship
elections in Kogi.
According to Honourable Faleke, the decision
of INEC to declare the elections of November
21, 2015 was in error.
To some analysts, HonourableFaleke, who did
not take part in any of the processes including
primaries of the party but was merely picked
as running mate by the late Audu could only
lay any claim to the victory, if the results of
that elections were declared in favour of his
party before Audu's death. They have also
argued that Honourable Faleke, who made
frantic efforts to emerge candidate of his
party the APC to replace late Audu in the
supplementary elections, but lost out, could
not, in line with the provisions of the Electoral
Act replace Audu because he did not take part
in any process the led to emergence of a
candidate in the kogi elections, therefore
fielding him would mean, donating victory to
the PDP through the tribunal or Appeal Court.
It is curious that, it was after losing his bid to
replace his late boss, that Faleke suddenly
realized that indeed he should have being
declared governor-elect by INEC, for this
double standard, many are of the opinion that
Faleke is either playing a spoiler's script since
he could not have his way or merely playing to
the gallery.
Faleke is not alone in court, the candidate of
the People's Democratic Party, PDP and
incumbent governor, Captain Idris Wada is
also in court, laying claim to have won the
November 21, 2015 kogi governorship
elections, coincidentally, both Faleke and
Audu are at the wrong places, because the
Electoral Act says elections related cases
shall begin at the election Tribunals, it did not
say such cases should start from an regular
court, therefore, anybody laying claims to that
particular victory before a regular court may
be acting in cumulative ignorance or simply
playing to the gallery.
For Bayelsa, it is a full elections in the 8 local
governments that constitute the state , the
Nigerian Police Force has deployed its
personnel to the oil rich state to ensure that
today's elections are violence free and
without the usual ballot stuffing.
The Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC has vowed that Smart
Card Readers must be used for accreditation
for today's elections in Bayelsa and, on no
account should manual accreditation be
allowed.
Like Kogi state before the death of the APC
candidate, the two leading candidates in
today's Bayelsa governorship elections,
Honourable Seriake Dickson of the PDP and
the APC candidate, Mr Timipre Sylva have
both governed the state, while Sylva was
governor of Bayelsa state between 2007 and
2011; the PDP candidate is the incumbent
state governor.
Like, Kogi whoever wins in today's Bayelsa
state governorship elections between the APC
and the PDP candidates would only do one
term, having done a term each.
The police personnel deployed to Bayelsa
state, with just 8 local governments
underscores not just the difficult terrain of the
river line state, but also to checkmate and
possibly neutralize the anxiety and fear of
crisis, following the drums of war from the oil
rich state by supporters of both parties as well
as the uncharitable comments of former
president Goodluck Jonathan believed to be
designed to widen the gulf and sow a seed of
discord when he told the people of the state
during one of the rallies of the PDP candidate
Seriake Dickson that the PDP was an Ijaw
party.
President Jonathan, to many, was simply on a
familiar path of regional, sectional and
religious bigotry, which contributed immensely
in sending him out of Aso Rock during the
April 2015 Presidential elections which he lost
by vilifying Muhammadu Buhari.
LEADERSHIP Weekend gathered that, such
comments believed to be unnecessarily
incisive, informed the decision of the police
and sister agencies to deploy enough
personnel to ensure that the people of Bayelsa
are allowed to freely exercise their
constitutional rights by voting for any
candidate or political party of their choice
without being harassed or intimidated.