Kogi Primary: Bello May Likely Replace Audu

Alhaji Yahaya Bello, who came second to the late Prince Abubakar Audu in the All Progressives Congress’ [APC] governorship primaries last month, is likely to be nominated as the party’s governorship candidate ahead of the supplementary polls slated for next week, Daily Trust learnt from reliable party sources in Abuja last night.

The Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] has given APC up to December 1 to nominate a replacement for Audu, who died on Sunday shortly after the election was declared inconclusive.

Even though APC’s national chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun said on Tuesday that the party would organize new primaries to pick a replacement for Audu, Daily Trust learnt that party leaders do not intend to hold new primaries and would only make a “substitution.”
Party leaders say this is in line with the letter of the Electoral Act, which says a party would be allowed to

make a substitution if its candidate dies.

Alhaji Yahaya Bello, who is Igbirra from Kogi State’s central senatorial zone, had polled 703 votes to finish second to Audu in the primaries.
In addition to that, sources told Daily Trust that Bello was actually preferred by the top party leaders even above Audu, since the latter did not support President Muhammadu Buhari in APC’s presidential primaries last November. Audu was a staunch supporter of former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

According to the informed sources, party leaders are not inclined to allow Audu’s running mate Mr. James Faleke to pick the ticket because he did not contest in the primaries. Another minus against Faleke, the sources said, is that he is essentially a Lagosian of Kogi ancestry who served as chairman of a local government in Lagos State and is currently a legislator representing a constituency in Lagos State.

Besides, the source said Bello comes from Kogi State’s second largest ethnic group which APC leaders believe is more advantageous politically.
The party’s national working committee is expected to meet today to work out modalities for the substitution. In practice, whoever APC nominates has already become the Governor of Kogi State since PDP’s candidate Governor Idris Wada cannot possibly close the gap in the supplementary election, hence the high stakes.

Meanwhile, some of the aspirants that participated in the primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC), that produced late Prince Abubakar Audu as the candidate yesterday expressed mixed feeling over the decision of the party’s national headquarters to organize new primary election.

This is coming in the wakes of a protest by a group that called for the upgrading of Audu’s deputy gubernatorial candidate, Abiodun James Faleke, to be the APCs candidate for the supplementary election slated for Dec 5.
One of the aspirants, who spoke in confidence, said they would stage a protest today at the APC national headquarters to press home their demands.

“We feel the national headquarters of the party ought to have consulted us before taking a decision. Personally, I feel it was wrong for the party to take a unilateral decision to organize a fresh primary,” he said.
Another aspirant, Dr Hakeem Yakeen, said all interested parties for the Kogi election, including the APC and INEC should have gone to the Supreme Court to decide on the right thing to do.

“I am afraid that we are heading for a situation whereby we would be confronted with lots of litigations at the end of the day. The ideal thing is for the Supreme Court to set precedence,” he said.
Another candidate said he would definitely go to court if fresh election is held.

Twenty seven aspirants contested the APC primary elections in Kogi with late Prince Audu scoring 1,109 votes to emerge victorious.
Other aspirants were Alhaji Yahaya Bello, 703 votes; Senator NurudeenAbatemiUsman (400), Sanusi Abubakar (309), Air Vice Marshal SaliuAtawodi (183), James Ocholi (90), OlusolaOlumoroti (58), Suleiman Baba Ali (28), RotimiObadofin (16), Dr Tim NdaDiche (13) and Abdullahi Suleiman (11), Clarence Olafemi, the former acting governor of Kogi State, (7), Senator YahayaUgbane 8, YakeenAbdullahi 8, Idris Danjuma (5) and Col. Ahmed Usman(6).

The protesters that besieged the national secretariat of the APC had called on the party’s leadership to replace Prince Audu with Falake.
The leader of the protesters, Mr Bamidele Peters, said the decision of the APC to conduct a fresh primary election was not necessary since the late Prince Audu was running on a joint ticket with Mr. Faleke.

Protesting under the aegis of Kogi Youth Vanguard, they claimed that since legal experts in Nigeria had argued in favour of Falake, any decision to choose another person would be injustice on the part of the APC against the Okun people if the deputy, who hails from their tribe, was stopped.