James Faleke polarizes Kogi APC

• Declares self factional guber candidate with Audu’s son deputy
• PPA blames AGF of causing crisis in the state

James Abiodun Faleke, the deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 21, 2015, election in Kogi State in which late Prince Abubakar Audu was APC governorship candidate,  has formed a faction in the party where he presents himself as the governorship candidate for the December 5, 2015, supplementary election in the state. Falake, a lawmaker representing Ikeja Federal Constituency in Lagos Sate in the National Assembly, has made   Mohammed Audu, son of late Prince Abubakar Audu, his deputy governorship candidate for the supplementary election this Saturday which will be conducted in 91 polling units across 23 local governments where votes were cancelled because of perceived irregularities.

Invariably, Faleke has made himself APC candidate contrary to the decision of APC leaders who endorsed Yahaya Bello, the runner up in the APC primary that produced Audu, to succeed the dead governorship candidate.

Faleke, National Daily gathered, has the backing of his political godfather from Lagos, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to challenge the party leadership and insist on the mandate derived from the majority votes APC got in his joint ticket with Audu on Saturday, November 21 before Audu passed on on Sunday while the result of the election was still being announced before it was declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The APC candidate, Audu, had a clear lead in the contest with over 240,000 while Governor Idris Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was trailing with over 119,000 votes. The election was declared inconclusive when it was discovered that the number of votes in the cancelled polling units exceeded the winning margin.

Faleke, has urged the people of Kogi to remain calm and law abiding as APC mandate given to Prince Abubakar Audu will be defended, sustained and maintained.

He told newsmen and party supporters that all shades of opinions have been expressed by Nigerians who have offered him various baits. “l wish to make it abundantly clear that this struggle is not only for me. As a matter of fact, it is beyond me and has become a
moral burden on my shoulders to defend on behalf of the political family of late Audu Abubakar, the interests, views and vision of our late leader Prince Abubakar Audu,” he declared.

He maintained that the Abuabakar Audu political family is intact and no one can shake it because it is firmly rooted in trust, loyalty, commitment, sincerity of purpose and clear cut ideologies fit only for the change APC is canvassing.

According to him, “I remain the only person holding on to those votes cast for APC and no other person, going back to the primary election conducted on the 28th August whose life span expired immediately the late Prince Abubakar Audu emerged the candidate and the party requested him to nominate a deputy in accordance with  the constitutional provision in section 187 which states that, “A candidate for the office of the Governor shall not be deemed to have been validly nominated for such office unless he nominates another candidate as his associate for his running for the office of the Governor, who is to occupy the office of the Deputy .”

He posited that their late leader duly exercised this right by nominating him and that party therefore handed over to them the INEC nomination forms as its flag bearer. The party process thereof, he observed, remains an adhoc tool mainly for the purpose producing a candidate for the party.

Faleke referred  APC to the INEC  timetable published in Daily Trust newspaper of August 11, 2015 and INEC publication of confirmation of the 22 parties and their candidates with particular reference to number seven on the list where Prince Audu Abubakar and himself appeared
jointly as candidate for APC to which the letters of Section 141 of the Electoral Act states:
“An election Tribunal or court under circumstance declare any person a winner at an election in which such a person has not fully participated in all the stages.” He argued that the constitution has taken cognizance of the current situation and has, therefore, envisaged as such.

Faleke stated that he participated in all the stages of the election, adding that his principal’s victory at the primaries automatically gave him the mandate by the virtue of Section 187 of the constitution.

He equally explained that Alhaji Yahaya Bello who is agitating to take over the mantle did not participate fully in all the stages of election, adding that he did not participate in the campaigns meetings, neither did he mobilized voters for APC, adding that, the result from Bello’s unit and ward were won by PDP, where APC had 1,146 and PDP 2,058 and another unit where APC had 88 and PDP 119.

Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA), Peter Ameh, has blamed the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, over the political imbroglio in Kogi State APC.

Speaking with newsmen at PPA National Convention in held Lokoja, Ameh said instead of allowing the matter to degenerate, the AGF should have approached the Supreme Court for a pronouncement on the development.

Ameh was returned as the National Chairman of the party stressed that, “since it was impossible for the parties to approach the apex court, the Minister should have saved the country of the embarrassment and the crisis by taking steps to douse the tension”.

He expressed concern over the ravaging crisis in Kogi, noting that the state is strategically located and should not be allowed to be engulfed in serious political crisis.

The PPA National Chairman, thereafter, assured that efforts are being made to reposition the party by tapping into the youths of the country. According to him, “the party has discovered that the youth of the country constitute about 70 per cent of the population and would form the support base needed to entrench the party across the country.”

He added that with the steps already taken to spread the party across Nigeria, the PPA would put up a better performance during the 2019 general elections.

The national convention also produced Kehinde Edun as national secretary, Usoko Zarame as the national publicity secretary and Ralph Jack as the national youth, leader.

James Abiodun Faleke, the deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 21, 2015, election in Kogi State in which late Prince Abubakar Audu was APC governorship candidate,  has formed a faction in the party where he presents himself as the governorship candidate for the December 5, 2015, supplementary election in the state. Falake, a lawmaker representing Ikeja Federal Constituency in Lagos Sate in the National Assembly, has made   Mohammed Audu, son of late Prince Abubakar Audu, his deputy governorship candidate for the supplementary election this Saturday which will be conducted in 91 polling units across 23 local governments where votes were cancelled because of perceived irregularities.

Invariably, Faleke has made himself APC candidate contrary to the decision of APC leaders who endorsed Yahaya Bello, the runner up in the APC primary that produced Audu, to succeed the dead governorship candidate.

Faleke, National Daily gathered, has the backing of his political godfather from Lagos, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to challenge the party leadership and insist on the mandate derived from the majority votes APC got in his joint ticket with Audu on Saturday, November 21 before Audu passed on on Sunday while the result of the election was still being announced before it was declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The APC candidate, Audu, had a clear lead in the contest with over 240,000 while Governor Idris Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was trailing with over 119,000 votes. The election was declared inconclusive when it was discovered that the number of votes in the cancelled polling units exceeded the winning margin.

Faleke, has urged the people of Kogi to remain calm and law abiding as APC mandate given to Prince Abubakar Audu will be defended, sustained and maintained.

He told newsmen and party supporters that all shades of opinions have been expressed by Nigerians who have offered him various baits. “l wish to make it abundantly clear that this struggle is not only for me. As a matter of fact, it is beyond me and has become a
moral burden on my shoulders to defend on behalf of the political family of late Audu Abubakar, the interests, views and vision of our late leader Prince Abubakar Audu,” he declared.

He maintained that the Abuabakar Audu political family is intact and no one can shake it because it is firmly rooted in trust, loyalty, commitment, sincerity of purpose and clear cut ideologies fit only for the change APC is canvassing.

According to him, “I remain the only person holding on to those votes cast for APC and no other person, going back to the primary election conducted on the 28th August whose life span expired immediately the late Prince Abubakar Audu emerged the candidate and the party requested him to nominate a deputy in accordance with  the constitutional provision in section 187 which states that, “A candidate for the office of the Governor shall not be deemed to have been validly nominated for such office unless he nominates another candidate as his associate for his running for the office of the Governor, who is to occupy the office of the Deputy .”

He posited that their late leader duly exercised this right by nominating him and that party therefore handed over to them the INEC nomination forms as its flag bearer. The party process thereof, he observed, remains an adhoc tool mainly for the purpose producing a candidate for the party.

Faleke referred  APC to the INEC  timetable published in Daily Trust newspaper of August 11, 2015 and INEC publication of confirmation of the 22 parties and their candidates with particular reference to number seven on the list where Prince Audu Abubakar and himself appeared jointly as candidate for APC to which the letters of Section 141 of the Electoral Act states:
“An election Tribunal or court under circumstance declare any person a winner at an election in which such a person has not fully participated in all the stages.” He argued that the constitution has taken cognizance of the current situation and has, therefore, envisaged as such.

Faleke stated that he participated in all the stages of the election, adding that his principal’s victory at the primaries automatically gave him the mandate by the virtue of Section 187 of the constitution.

He equally explained that Alhaji Yahaya Bello who is agitating to take over the mantle did not participate fully in all the stages of election, adding that he did not participate in the campaigns meetings, neither did he mobilized voters for APC, adding that, the result from Bello’s unit and ward were won by PDP, where APC had 1,146 and PDP 2,058 and another unit where APC had 88 and PDP 119.

Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA), Peter Ameh, has blamed the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, over the political imbroglio in Kogi State APC.

Speaking with newsmen at PPA National Convention in held Lokoja, Ameh said instead of allowing the matter to degenerate, the AGF should have approached the Supreme Court for a pronouncement on the development.

Ameh was returned as the National Chairman of the party stressed that, “since it was impossible for the parties to approach the apex court, the Minister should have saved the country of the embarrassment and the crisis by taking steps to douse the tension”.

He expressed concern over the ravaging crisis in Kogi, noting that the state is strategically located and should not be allowed to be engulfed in serious political crisis.

The PPA National Chairman, thereafter, assured that efforts are being made to reposition the party by tapping into the youths of the country. According to him, “the party has discovered that the youth of the country constitute about 70 per cent of the population and would form the support base needed to entrench the party across the country.”

He added that with the steps already taken to spread the party across Nigeria, the PPA would put up a better performance during the 2019 general elections.

The national convention also produced Kehinde Edun as national secretary, Usoko Zarame as the national publicity secretary and Ralph Jack as the national youth, leader.