The constitutional crisis and attendant electoral logjam ignited by the
sudden demise of Prince Abubakar Audu, the erstwhile candidate of the All
Progressives Congress in the governorship election in Kogi State
underscores the imperative of further amendment to the Electoral Act,
2010. Neither it nor the relevant extant laws of the 1999 Constitution
(as amended) envisages the possibility of the death of a candidate in an
election whose results are declared inconclusive.
But now, it has happened!
Whereas, Section 181 of the Constitution directs that the running mate be
sworn in, to replace a candidate duly elected but who dies before the
date for assuming office Audu had yet to be so decaled by the Independent
National Electoral Commission. Though he was leading the polls having
garnered 240,867 votes in 16 of the 21 Local Government Areas to his
Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Idris Wada, who scored 199,514 votes,
the margin of 41,353 votes was less than the 49,953 as total votes
cancelled in 91 polling units across 19 LGAs.
Section 53 of the Electoral Act frowns on over voting. That is the crux
of the matter.
Even as some legal minds opine that the late Audu’s running mate, James
Faleke, be made to replace him as it happened back in 1999 when Alhaji
Atiku Abubakar was chosen as the Vice-President to Chief Olusegun
Obasanjo, after he had won the governorship contest in Adamawa State,
others insist that this is not a similar political scenario.
Audu had yet
to be declared the winner, as the Returning Officer of the election,
Prof. Emmanuel Kucha, has stated that the election was inconclusive.
Besides, Section 141 of the Electoral Act, as amended explicitly states
that for any candidate to be duly elected, he must have gone through the
entire gamut of the process from the primaries through the campaigns to
the end by scoring the maximum number of votes cast. As rightly observed
by Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), a former President of the Nigerian Bar
Association, with the death of Audu and the electoral process not
completing the race at the determined finishing point, legally speaking,
there was no election!
In the light of the lack of constitutional provision in this new
political event in Nigeria, INEC has to seek legal assistance again from
the Supreme Court. Its dilemma would have been made easier if Audu’s
death had taken place before the election. In the event of that, Faleke
having a joint ticket with Audu would have stepped into his shoes. But
this rather unfortunate situation throws up some burning questions.
If for instance, the APC conducts a fresh primary election and the
eventual winner does not hail from the Eastern Senatorial District where
the late Audu came from, how would his people feel? Would they not feel
shortchanged, as the North-West geopolitical zone felt by the death of
Umaru Yar’Ardua back in 2010? Did this not delay the taking over of the
presidential baton by Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, until pressure was mounted
by the Save Nigeria Group and the National Assembly came with the
Doctrine of Necessity?
Another likely perspective to the unfolding, high-wire political drama is
the position of the man who came with the closest vote to Audu during the
last APC primary in the state, Yahaya Bello, considered by some political
observers as contentious. Would Bello not feel left in the cold should
his party decide to replace the late Audu with some other candidate other
than himself? He is of the Kogi Central Senatorial District, an Ebira man
whose people insist that they clamoured for the creation of Kogi State ab
initio but have not had value for the energy so dispensed? These
conjectures are not mere base sentiments as Kogi State provides an
intriguing political spectrum that has since 1991 produced governors from
only the Igala ethnic stock.
Yet, waiting in the wings to capitalise on the cloudy constitutional
impasse is the PDP. It has produced all the governors in the state since
1999. Though the emerging sweeping result in favour of the APC indicates
that it is on the verge of losing out in the political chess game, INEC’s
stance that the gap between its candidate and the late Audu is less than
that of the voided votes provides it an opportunity to re-strategise. It
could angle for an entirely fresh election rather than the supplementary
election, if possible. Or, on the alternative use its power of incumbency
to appeal to the sensibility of the electorate in the affected areas. Be
that as it may, the party chieftains would be compelled to take a
critical look at the well-known factors that have led to its dismal
performance at the polls and attempt to make amends.
Time however, is one great constraint for all the stakeholders-from the
APC, the PDP to INEC. Going by Section 36 of the Electoral Act, 2010,
they have 14 days to iron out the gray areas, for a supplementary
election. But as INEC grapples with the challenge of conducting another
set of election in the state it should sustain the highly commendable
proactive synergy it has had with the security forces. Also, continuous
voter education is a growing necessity as it should ensure that all its
card readers function effectively. Perfecting the logistics mechanisms
that would ensure that materials are delivered to the polling units as
and when due is also imperative.
So far, its performance from the previous elections in Anambra, Edo,
Ekiti and Osun states before the 2015 general elections have shown
progressively marked improvements. With that of Bayelsa State knocking at
its door, it should build on its gains and learn lessons from its areas
of failures. In a similar vein, our lawmakers now have an opportunity to
fine-tune the Electoral Act prelude to the long-awaited review of the
constitution.
One lesson the Kogi scenario has taught us is to consider some of the
recommendations of the National Conference Report of 2014, on the need to
rotate political offices amongst the three senatorial districts of each
state, to foster peace and harmony.
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