After receiving five appeals from the Court of Appeal in the legal contest between Kogi’s Gov. Yahaya Bello and the appellants, the Supreme Court Tuesday ruled in favour of the APC incumbent.
Justice Sylvester Ngwata, leading the seven-man panel, affirmed the election of Bello as replacement for the late winner Abubakar Audu, and APC’s rightful occupant of the government house. Audu died hours before the 2015 governorship poll result was announced.
Among the appeals were those of the immediate past governor of the state, Idris Wada, of the PDP, and Faleke, Bello’s APC’s rival who was Audu’s running mate.
Counsels representing the parties included Wale Olanikpekun, for Faleke; Alex Izinyon represented INEC; Chris Uche represented Wada; Akin Olujimi, for the APC; and Joseph Daudu represented Yahaya Bello.
Izinyon urged the court to take cognisance of Section 141 of the Electoral Act to determine if Bello took full part in the election since it is about full participation in an electoral process.
According to him, court records show that Faleke remained the deputy governorship candidate of the APC.
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“The party and the candidate are inseparable as far as both of them are alive.”
However, Daudu argued that APC and the candidate it chose had the right to inherit all what was owned by late Audu.
“Section 221 of the constitution allows that it is the political party that contests elections,” Daudu said.
“The beneficiary of the votes in both elections (primary and guber) was Yahaya Bello.”
Uche, defending Wada, said the law states that nobody other than a political party should canvass votes for a candidate.
Olujimi said Section 33 of the Electoral Act allows a party to substitute a dead candidate. His definition of a candidate, when asked by one of the judges, was: “My lord, a candidate is a candidate.”
The apex court, however, dismissed all the appeals. It will provide reasons for its decision on September 30.