In the whole matter, justice was rightly served by both the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal and it shall be sealed by the Supreme Court. The people of Kogi State are joyously expectant and waiting for the final consolidation of Governor Yahaya Bello’s mandate. This is simply the best time for Kogi State.
The Kogi State electorate has never found it so fortunate than now when they have overwhelmingly keyed into the change mantra and massively voted the APC and Governor Yahaya Bello in the 2015 Governorship election. This is unarguably one of the best things that ever happened to Kogites.
The most unfortunate thing in the whole scenario is to present James Faleke and his cohorts as victims in the election and desperately and corruptly seek for the sympathy of the public and the judiciary at the expense of the mandate rightly and legally given to Governor Yahaya Bello. It is a right belief that the Supreme Court is too honourably noble to be swayed and compromised by hypocritical advances of desperate politicians.
Nobody is ignorant of the needless efforts coming from the misguided and facts-twisters to hoodwink and gaslight the unsuspecting public about the salient truth of the emergence of Governor Yahaya Bello in the 2015 Kogi State governorship election. Having majored in the expertise of corrupt manipulation of the principle and practice of law, they have vainly attempted to mislead the hapless citizenry both in morals and in law. But the people know better and are aware that justice was served by the Electoral Tribunal and Court of Appeal when the election of Governor Yahaya Bello was unanimously upheld. The people also have an unwavering faith in the Supreme Court to uphold same.
For posterity’s sake and for the record, the sacrosanct truth shall be clearly spelt out below and will rightly accord its place in the hall of honour.
1. Governor Yahaya Bello was never imposed on the people. He is the people’s choice. This was clearly demonstrated in the eve of the APC primaries election when the whole people went mourning as the news of Alhaji Yahaya Bello coming first runner up got to them. It took uncanny wisdom on the part of Alhaji Yayaha Bello to calm the visibly angry Kogites. The whole Confluence State went happily agog when by the divine twist and people’s support Alhaji Yahaya Bello finally emerged as the Governor of Kogi State.
2. There was no stolen mandate in Kogi State. What happened in Kogi in the 2015 governorship election was a series of events with a whole and one election. It is obvious that the uninformed erroneously capitalise on the words “inconclusive election” to mislead the public. No election was ever won in Kogi State on the November 21, 2015 and no other body is statutorily empowered to declare otherwise except the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) and INEC did not declare anybody as a winner on the November 22, 2015 and INEC was adjudged to be right.
3. The issue of Audu/Faleke joint ticket having not less than a quarter of all the votes cast in two-thirds of the Local Governments in Kogi State is a display of a dangerous perfidy. It is on record that as the APC won one–quarter of the votes cast in each of all the Local Government Areas of the State, PDP also won one–quarter of the votes cast in each of the two–third Local Government Areas of the State. However, “the number of registered voters in 91 polling where election had been cancelled, which was 49,953 voters, exceeded the margin of scores between the joint ticket of Prince Audu and Faleke and that of Capt. Wada and Arc. Awoniyi, being 41,619. The implication was that the results of the election in those polling units could lead to the election results being reversed. Hence, the INEC lawfully declared the election inconclusive. In fact, Faleke and his co–walkers did not dispute the cancellation of election in those polling units in the State where elections had been cancelled due to over–voting, violence and malpractices. So, capitalising on section 179(2) of the 1999 Constitution to make a case for James Faleke is an indication of “a little learning” which in the words of Alexander Pope is a dangerous thing and a shallow thinking.
4. The issue of “transferring” or “inheritance” of votes as some people want us to believe is utterly alien to our laws. The Courts have held in a plethora of cases that votes cast in election belong to the party not an individual as candidate in an election. See Section 33 of the Electoral Act and CPC Vs. Ombugadu (2013) 18 NWLR PT. 1385 P.66 at 152. “The primary method of contest for elective offices is therefore between parties, not candidates (emphasis mine)” see Amaechi Vs. INEC (2009) 5 NWLR PT. 1080 P. 227 at 317.
Therefore, the votes cast in 2015 kogi Election will always belong to the APC and not an individual.
5. The Electoral Manual so discredited by the uninformed folks is a valid subsidiary legislation, and where it is found to be relevant, its provisions must be invoked, applied and enforced. The Supreme Court was in agreement with this position in the case of Buhari Vs. Obasanjo (2005) 2NWLR PT. 901 Page 241 at 511 and Ajadi Vs. Ajibola (2004) 16 NWLR PT. 898 p. 91 at 165, para H. In this case the INEC rightly applied the Manual in the Kogi Election.
6. To make a declaration that Governor Yahaya Bello never participated in all the stages of the election is a lie taken too far.
It correct to say that the concept of full participation in “all stages of the said election” according to section 141 of the Electoral Act was affirmed by per M.D Muhammad JSC in the case of Yar’adua Vs. Yandoma (2015) 4 NWLR PT. 1448 at 177, thusly:
“…an election is a long drawn out process with distinct stages ending in the declaration of a winner by the returning officer. It entails one’s membership of a political party, his indication of desire to be the party’s candidate at the election, primaries for nomination of the party’s candidate, presentation of the party’s candidate to INEC, the event of the election, return of successful candidate at the election after declaration of scores and ends with the issuance of certificate of return to the successful candidate.”
Governor Yahaya Bello cannot be found to have contravened section 141 of the Electoral Act.
It therefore follows that, the contextual import of section 141 of the Electoral Act contemplates the party and the candidate’s full participation in an election and all the stages in the said election have more to do with a candidate being in alignment with his or her political party, which of course Governor Yahaya Bello fulfilled. At this point, both the party and the candidate are inseparable. It thus follows that Governor Yahaya Bello fully participated in all the stages of the said election. Saying otherwise is to give a different interpretation to the provision of the law.
7. The Supreme Court was emphatic that “there is simply no room for a candidate (like James Faleke) who never contested a primary election in such a setting to emerge a party candidate.” see Amaechi Vs. INEC (2009) 5 NWLR PT. 1080 P. 227 at 317.
8. To maintain that Alhaji Yahaya Bello is not a registered voter in Kogi State nor voted in the election, therefore surmised not to be qualified to be elected as Governor is a mischievous and malicious attempt to introduce a strange law into the Nigeria legal jurisprudence. The 1999 Constitution clearly provides for the qualification of a candidate seeking to be elected into the office of a Governor. Section 177 provides thus: “A person shall be qualified for election to the office of Governor of a Sate if –
(a) He is citizen of Nigeria by birth;
(b) He has attained the age of thirty–five years;
(c) He is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party; and
(d) He has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.”
I challenge anybody with flesh and blood to point to the whole world what makes Governor Yahaya Bello unqualified in the above section of the Constitution. In fact, Governor Yahaya Bello is more qualify over and above all in his opposition, including James Faleke.
In the whole matter, justice was rightly served by both the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal and it shall be sealed by the Supreme Court. The people of Kogi State are joyously expectant and waiting for the final consolidation of Governor Yahaya Bello’s mandate. This is simply the best time for Kogi State.
Shadrach E. Omeiza wrote from Lokoja, Kogi State.
