APC tackles Tinubu, Faleke Over Ministerial Slot

The festering crisis in the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC involving the national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu may have taken a new dimension as leaders of the All Progressives Congress in Kogi State have vowed to clip the influence of Tinubu, in the north central region of the country, report according to Punch Newspaper suggests

In the bid to tame Tinubu, the party leaders have vowed to reject James Faleke if nominated as a replacement for the late Minister of State for Labour, James Ocholi, who died in March last year in a road accident.

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They have called on President Muhammadu Buhari not to accept Faleke’s nomination, saying it would cause crisis in the party.

In a statement jointly signed by the leaders of the party from Kogi West, Alhaji Suleiman Ejibunu and Chief Richard Asaje, and made available to newsmen in Lokoja on Monday, the party men said the party would reject Faleke’s nomination.

“If at all Faleke and his godfather, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, deserve any and not the ministerial slot of Kogi State to avoid serious crisis in the Kogi APC as such a move may lead to the exit of every prominent, loyal and committed member of the party while aggravating the fractionalisation of the party along many divides.

“We are also unequivocally resolute to stop Tinubu’s expansion into Kogi State or any state in the North-Central; we are determined to push out all his cohorts from Kogi come 2018/2019. It is a task that must be done through all legal/political means. They have failed and they will continue to fail," the statement read in part

The leaders noted that James Faleke representing Lagos State in the National Assembly was known to Kogi State APC only during the governorship struggle when Tinubu allegedly imposed him on APC in Kogi as the deputy governorship candidate to late Prince Abubakar Audu.

The statement also read, “This generated a lot of discomfort to the founding members of APC who built the party, fought the then sitting government in all national elections and won. However, we swallowed the pains to fight and win the governorship election in the state.

“Giving him such an appointment will amount to providing him fuel to fire on the breakup of APC in the state. Faleke alongside Honourable Buba Jibril in the West Senatorial Area of Kogi State have formed illegal party structures and lay claim to illegal stakeholder structure for which a petition is already before the national leadership of the party.”

The Kogi APC chiefs advised President Muhammadu Buhari to find other means of compensating Faleke and not to make him a minister representing Kogi State.

APC Not Worth Political Party At All - Faleke, APC Reps Member Flays

James Faleke, the former running mate to the deceased All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate in Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu, has described his party, the All Progressives Congress as a mere gathering of politician and not a matured political party..

Faleke made the expression while frowning at the party’s handling of the crisis in the state, stressing that the party is at the verge of collapse.

Speaking in Ogbonicha, Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State, Faleke who is currently a member of the House of Representatives ruled out any form of reconciliation with the governor of the state, Yahaya Bello, who was the beneficiary of the crises that erupted after Audu’s death.

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He explained that there can never be any reconciliation process with the leadership of the state government because of the way and manner the national leadership of the party handled the issues that generated after Audu’s death.

According to Faleke, “There can never be any reconciliation in a situation where somebody works from first day to the last day of the month and another person collects his salary, what can only be the basis for reconciliation is for the salary to be returned, that is the only reconciliation.

“We are prepared to go hungry for the next four years, but I can tell you that God sparing our lives, the song will change surely.

“The architects of the crisis in Kogi state started the imminent downfall of our party, APC, the way and manner the issue of Kogi was handled was least expected of a political party. I have heard that one of the cabals said that APC was just a gathering of some people, not yet a political party.

“I want to say that as far as what happened in Kogi state is concerned and how it is affecting the party, I am sure those in government in the state can confirm that all is not well within the party in the state because when you worked and some people are benefitting or reaping the fruits of your labour, they will know that all cannot be well and that is why they are not getting their feet right.

“It is one year after Audu and nothing seems to be moving, it has taken the state more than seven to eight months to do screening and pay salary, people have died through queueing or waiting for their names to be screened and those that had been screened have not collected salary since January this year, you can imagine that certainly things are very bad, we know how much we spend to maintain our people in the state to keep live moving.

“When people work and at the end of the month they are not paid, you can be sure that nothing can go well, so whatever that goes on in the civil service in the state is also affecting the party

“What happened to us during the case and when we lost our leader one year ago and all the battles we went through in the legal process, the way and manner the court judgments came, the issues that were determined have shown that we are not in a party yet, as far as am concerned, until the party at the national level wakes up.

“You know that this party was formed by all of us, we contributed to it, it is not an animal farm, it belongs to everybody, until they realised that, that is only time that this party can have a foot and can move forward. If our people get paid, if our people are empowered and entrenched, i am sure the songs will change, but as it is now, it is bad bad song.”

Kogi: Why S'Court Actually Affirms Gov. Bello's Election

The reason why the Supreme Court yesterday, in its ruling affirming Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, as the validly elected governor of the state, declared that votes cast in an election belong to political parties, not candidates fielded by the parties.

The ruling by the apex court followed arguments by the counsels representing the various parties in the judgment which lasted several hours.

The Supreme Court’s judgment has brought to an end the entire rancor emanating from the election last year.

In a unanimous judgment, the seven-man panel presided over by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta dismissed all the appeals filed by the immediate past governor of the state, Captain Idris Wada, James Faleke, running mate of the All Progressives Candidate (APC) candidate in the November 21, 2015 governorship election, the late Prince Abubakar Audu and two others on grounds that they were lacking in merit.

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The court, however, said it would provide reasons for its decision on September 30.

Faleke had contended that the late Audu won the election hence there was no need for the supplementary election in which Governor Bello was substituted by the APC. He argued further that as the joint holder of Audu’s ticket, he should be declared the winner of the election.

But the justices, who did not agree with him, dismissed his appeal for lacking in merit. The justices affirmed the decisions of the lower courts.

Faleke’s counsel, Wale Olanikpekun (SAN), had in his argument, contended that Bello ought not to have emerged the candidate of the APC, as he was not a part of the process from the beginning. Citing Section 141 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, he pointed out that a person cannot be declared winner of an election in which he was not a participant.

He added that Governor Bello could not, therefore, inherit the votes as he was not a candidate in the election, emphasising that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) flouted the constitutional provision for the substitution of candidates when it declared the election inconclusive and decided to continue from where it had stopped, after accepting a new candidate for the APC and also argued out that though the law allowed for substitution of a candidate in the event of the death, INEC should have started the election all over, when the substitution was made.

He posited that Faleke ought to have been returned as winner of the poll, having participated in the election until it was 95 per cent complete.

The court also dismissed Wada’s case against Bello after listening to his lawyer, Chief Chris Uche.

The former governor’s lawyer also contended that the APC and INEC were wrong in allocating the late Audu’s votes to Bello.

He said votes cast were not for the APC but the people’s votes for APC.

“A party needs a candidate to conduct an election. The party cannot just bring a person to come and inherit the votes of another person,” Uche said.

Also dismissed were appeals filed by the Africa Democratic Party (ADC) and the Labour Party. The two parties had argued their cases along similar lines as Wada.

However, Joseph Daudu (SAN), counsel to Governor Bello, in his submission before the court, said Faleke’s appeal lacked substance as he had failed to show proof that Bello’s emergence as the APC candidate was wrong and that the votes cast do not belong to him as the substitution was wrongly done, as claimed.

Recalls that Audu died before the final announcement of the results of the election, following which the election was declared inconclusive.

The re-run held on December 5, 2015, led to the emergence of Bello as the governorship candidate of the party.

Wada, who contested the election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Faleke had approached the Supreme Court in August, challenging Bello’s victory at the Court of Appeal.

The appellate court had upheld an earlier judgment in June by the Kogi State Governorship Election Tribunal, which gave victory to the governor.

The tribunal, in the judgment read by its chairman, Justice Halima Mohammed, said Mr Faleke’s petition lacked merit and, consequently, threw it out.

The tribunal further held that the fact that INEC declared the first election inconclusive meant no winner had emerged.

It also said that all votes belonged to political parties and not the candidate who contested on their platforms.

It said Faleke had no locus standi to challenge Bello’s nomination by the APC to replace Audu as he (Audu) was not the governor-elect

Leadership

Kogi S'Court Governorship Judgement: Tension Rents All Camps, Gov. Bello Flees State

Palpable fear and tension have gripped the various political camps in Kogi State as the Supreme Court prepares to deliver judgment on the state governorship election.

Already, the major political gladiators in the state, including Governor Yahaya Bello, have moved to Abuja preparatory to Tuesday’s judgment day.

Aside this, security agencies in the state like the Nigeria Police, the Directorate of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have been mobilised to ensure adequate security in major towns of the state ahead of the day.

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However, the three major parties to the case on Friday were confident of victory at the apex court.

Bello, who spoke through his Special Adviser, Media and Strategy, Abdulmalik Abdulkareem, said he was not shaken by the impending judgment.

He said: “We are not shaken, we know that the rule of law will take its course. God willing, we are set to make legal record that will become a precedence. The Nigerian legal system is developing and we are happy that our case is adding impetus to the Nigerian judiciary.”

He said the governor’s camp was not in any way jittery over the judgment as no different issue had been raised by the appellants.

On the governor relocating to Abuja, he said, “it is not true that the entire government machinery moved to Abuja. It is usual that when the governor is out of town, a few officials are with him. He is working; he has been attending meetings. So it is not true that he is in Abuja because of the judgment.”

But the immediate past governor of the state, Captain Idris Wada, said he expected to win the case when the judges of the apex court sit on the suit on Tuesday.

Speaking through his Special Adviser, Media and Strategy, Jacob Edi, the former governor said he had always had belief in the judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court.

He said, “We expect to win the case; we have always had confidence in the judiciary and we kept advancing to the last stage. That is why we are at the Supreme Court. The judiciary is the ultimate for the common man.

“The framers of the constitution are aware that at every stage of the case, newer interpretations will come up. We believe that the Supreme Court will look deeper into the case, particularly with the minority judgment.”

“Whatever decision taken will deepen democracy as the case is novel, it will be a landmark judgment, we have confidence in the independence of the Supreme Court”.

Nigerian Tribune

Kogi: Faleke's Deputy Gov. Candidate, Former Late Gov. Audu's Charged With ARMED ROBBERY

Abiodun James Faleke and Late Audu Abubakar Son,
Mohammed Audu

Mohammed Audu, the eldest son of the former and late governor of Kogi State, Abubakar Audu has been charged with armed robbery on Thursday at magistrate court, in Kogi

Mohammed was the was last year picked by Mr. James Faleke as his Deputy Governor when his father died on the day of the election in Kogi State.

According to Punch Newspaper, Mohammed was arrested on Wednesday night when he honoured the invitation of the men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad at the “A” Division Office of the Nigeria Police Force in Lokoja and he was subsequently detained.

The police charged him to court on Thursday.

Apart from armed robbery, other charges in the First Information Report filed by the police against Mohammed were criminal conspiracy, causing mischief and grievous hurt as well as attempted culpable homicide, all contrary to sections 97 (1), 248, 327, 298 and 229 of the Penal Code.

In the said FIR, Mohammed’s uncle, Alhaji Yahaya Audu, who was the complainant in the case, alleged that he was attacked by some hoodlums in his home at Ogbonicha on August 30.

Yahaya said it was by sheer miracle that he escaped from his assailants, who, he said, were shooting sporadically during the attack.

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The police prosecutor, Mr. Otowu Gabriel, told the court that though investigation into the matter was still ongoing, findings by the police linked Mohammed and others still at large with Yahaya’s attack.

 The lead defence counsel, Mr. Okechukwu Ajunwa, however, contended that there was nothing in the charge that linked his client to the attack.

Ajuwa urged the court to admit his client to bail in line with the provision of Section 36 (5) of the constitution, and in view of the fact that the police were still investigating the case.

He assured the court that his client would neither abscond nor interfere with police investigation if granted bail.

He said his client was a prominent member of the society, who had no reason to abscond, pointing out that Mohammed was not arrested but he voluntarily went to the police station to honour their invitation.

In his response, the prosecutor said he did not wish to oppose the bail application but would allow the court to use its discretion.

After listening to the parties, the Chief Magistrate, Alhassan Hussain, admitted Mohammed to bail, with a directive that he must make himself available for every court session.

The court adjourned till September 29, 2016 for further proceedings in the matter.

Kogi Guber: Tribunal Throws Out Faleke's Suit, Uphold Yahaya Bello As Gov

The Kogi State governorship election tribunal, sitting in Abuja, has upheld the election of Governor Yahaya Bello as the duly elected governor of Kogi State.

The Chairman of the Tribunal, Halima Mohammed, who read the judgment in the petition filed by a member of the House of Representatives, James Faleke, threw away the petition for lacking in merit.

Mr. Faleke challenged the emergence of Mr. Bello as governor and asked the tribunal to declare him governor because the election of late Abubakar Audu was almost concluded before he died.

Mr. Bello was nominated by the APC to replace its late candidate, Mr. Audu.

Mr. Faleke ran as deputy governorship candidate with Mr. Audu and they were coasting to victory before Mr. Audu suddenly died.

INEC declared the election inconclusive and asked the APC to nominate a replacement for the deceased. Mr. Bello was nominated and he nominated Mr. Faleke as his deputy, an offer the latter refused.

Ms. Mohammed said on Monday that the fact that INEC declared the first election held on November 21, 2015 inconclusive meant no governor or deputy governor-elect had emerged.

She also averred that all votes cast belong to political parties, “it is the political party, through the instrumentality of its candidate that runs for election.”

She said Mr. Faleke therefore lacked the locus standi to challenge the nomination of Mr. Bello to replace the late Mr. Audu since he was never a deputy governor-elect.

The tribunal therefore, threw away his petition as lacking in merit.

“No right can accrue from an inconclusive election,” she said.

Kogi Controversy: Gov. Yahaya Bello NOT Registered Voter In Kogi, Own Witness Tells Tribunal

The Kogi State Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja was on Tuesday told that Governor Yahaya Bello’s voter card actually carried an Abuja address.

Onoja Edward, a witness in the Kogi State governorship election dispute, told the Justice Halima Muhammad-led tribunal that Bello had applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission for the transfer of the card back to Lokoja.

The witness, who is the Chief of Staff to the Governor and Director of Strategies for Bello’s Campaign, gave the testimony while being cross-examined by the Counsel to the petitioner, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN).

According to the witness: “I detest impunity.

“I also detest fraud.

“I will not encourage impunity or fraud in governance.

“The voter card of the 2nd respondent, Bello, carries the address of Abuja, but we have applied for transfer and we are yet to get the approval.

“Although, the names on INEC nomination form is bearing Abubakar Audu and James Faleke upon the request by the 2nd respondent party, that is the All Progressives Congress after the death of Audu, the 2nd respondent submitted his nomination form to INEC.

“Also, Exhibit R6 is a document which pronounces the election to run from November 2015 to December 2015.”

The witness also told the tribunal that Faleke was a running mate throughout the election period and that he had never been an independent candidate in the Kogi State election.

Edward said 28 candidates contested for the Kogi State primary election of the All Progressives Congress and the petitioner was not part of the candidates that contested.

“The total of 6,885 votes was secured by APC in the December 5 supplementary election and there was no cancellation of votes in the 91 polling units across the state,” the witness added.

Edward also told the tribunal when he was being cross-examined by the INEC counsel, Alex Izinyon, (SAN), that Bello obtained the second best result in the primary election and that was why he was considered to represent the party after Audu’s death.

“Seven hundred and three is the scores Bello had during the primary and 1,109 was Audu’s scores and there was never a time the petitioner was an independent candidate.

“The petitioner had never been sent as an independent candidate all through the electioneering process.

“He had been a running mate all through the election.”

Izinyon had earlier told the tribunal that he had no witness to call but documents to tender in relation to the election.

Some of the documents used for the election were tendered by the INEC Counsel and they were all admitted and marked as exhibits.

While being led in evidence-in-chief by Counsel to Bello, Joseph Daudu, the witness adopted all his statements on oath.

The tribunal, however, adjourned further hearing until April 6 in Faleke’s petition.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the tribunal also adjourned till March 22 for the adoption of written address in the petition filed by the retired Captain Idris Wada, the former governor of the state and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the election.

Counsels in Wada’s petition had earlier informed the tribunal that they had filed all necessary documents before the tribunal.

NAN.

APC Crisis: Buhari Endorses Oyegun's Sack As Pressure Mounts, His Many Sins Revealed

Ripples - Prominent forces within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) may have secured President Muhammadu Buhari’s backing to dispense with national chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Ripples can exclusively report.

Investigations revealed that the Board of Trustees (BoT), National Executive Council (NEC) and most members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party as well as leading National Assembly members have decided to do away with Oyegun.

Oyegun, it was gathered, has become a dispensable commodity according to the forces against him because of his mishandlings of several issues in the party.

The national chairman is being accused of committing serious infractions that have created needless troubles for the party.

It was learnt that all these infractions have been collated and explained to the Presidency, which has since decided to go with the Oyegun-must-go project.

Sources said President Buhari was initially opposed to the campaign to send Oyegun packing because their relationship dated back to 2007 when the President contested under the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) with Oyegun playing prominent, visible roles.

Buhari was said to have balked at the idea, according to findings, because of the suspicion that the move was just a campaign of calumny against the former Edo State governor.

He was however swayed over after the infractions committed by Oyegun and how they have affected the fortunes of the party were tabled before him.

The President was said to have told the party chieftains that with all the evidence against the national chairman, he was no longer fit to continue in office.

Buhari however reportedly insisted Oyegun should be given a soft-landing to avert a major backlash that will trail a forced resignation or sack.

Prominent among the infractions the anti-Oyegun elements presented was his handling of the Kogi governorship supplementary debacle that produced Yahaya Bello.

It was learnt many NWC and NEC members actually endorsed James Faleke to fly the party’s ticket but they were allegedly shut down by Oyegun.

Oyegun, many of them alleged, was bought over by Bello, a wealthy business merchant, with a whopping N300million “as fuel money” after a visit to the chairman in Abuja.

This ‘fuel money’, APC chieftains alleged was why Oyegun stuck out his neck for Bello even when some prominent members begged for Faleke to continue the inconclusive election.

It was learnt that the party’s leaders succeeded in proving this allegation to Buhari at a meeting last week in Abuja.

The national chairman is also accused of hobnobbing with Senate President Bukola Saraki, who is facing trial at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) over charges of false declaration of assets.

Oyegun was said to have angered party chieftains when he recognised Saraki few days after his emergence in defiance of the APC’s directives.

His enemies were believed to have told Buhari it was despicable for the chairman to have recognised Saraki even when it was obvious the President was livid about his emergence and avoided him for months.

“If our chairman could recognise a rebellious Senate President when the President was still angry with the process that produced him, it shows he was throwing his weight around.

“Look at how the mess has created troubles for the anti-corruption war. The National Assembly is clearly obstructing the President’s policies and programmes.'

“By recognising him without clearance from the Presidency, Oyegun compromised the party. He boasted Saraki’s defiance and slighted Buhari,” a 

source privy to the Oyegun-must-go project confided.

The source added that the March 22 NWC meeting in Abuja will be the beginning of the end for Oyegun while his fate might be sealed on March 23 when the BoT meeting holds.

The March 24 NEC meeting, according to the plan, will serve as the platform to push Oyegun out.

Already there are pressures on him to turn in his resignation so as not to give the impression that he was edged out.

Oyegun, who returned from a 10-day leave on Monday, it was learnt, has been lobbying to save his job.

But sources said the party has suffered greatly under him.

“We are drifting. There is no discipline and we are not in charge. We need a chairman who can rein in things for the President so that Buhari can concentrate on the business of governance,” a NWC member told our correspondent on Monday night.