Kogi guber election: INEC confirms Yahaya Bello as APC’s choice for polls
The
Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has confirmed that the
All Progressives Congress, APC has submitted the name of Yahaya Bello
as its candidate for replacement of Abubakar Audu in the Kogi State
supplementary election due for Saturday.
Nick Dazang, the INEC Deputy Director of Publicity, disclosed this in
an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Abuja.
Dazang, however, did not disclose when the commission received the request.
Audu, the candidate of APC in the substantive election held on 21
November, had died about the time the results of the election were being
announced the next day.
He was leading his closest challenger, Idris Wada, who is also the
incumbent governor of the State by 41,000-vote lead before his death.
The election was declared inconclusive by INEC which also asked APC
to nominate another candidate for the supplementary election to conclude
the process.
But the death of Audu has thrown up a constitutional crises, with the
deceased’s running mate, James Faleke claiming to be the right
inheritors of the votes while APC seemed to have settled for Yahaya who
came second in the APC gubernatorial primaries.
Supporters
of the two contenders clashed at the Wuse, Abuja headquarters of the
party on Monday as they waited for the party’s decision.
A stakeholders’ meeting being attended by Falake and Bello and other
heavyweights of the party like the governor of Kaduna State, Nasir
el-Rufai was still ongoing as at the time of writing this story.
The party is expected to unveil Bello as its choice for replacement
of Audu at the end of the meeting. The meeting is however a mere
formality as Nick Dazang, the INEC Deputy Director of Publicity said on
Monday that APC has already sent the name of Bello as replacement for
Audu in the supplementary election.
“They have sent the name of their replacement candidate, the second
runner-up in their primaries, that is Yahaya Bello, to the commission,”
Dazang said.
The deputy director also told NAN that the commission was much ready
to conduct both Kogi State supplementary and Bayelsa State elections,
both scheduled for December 5.
Dazang said: “The commission is committed to conduct the two elections.
“That is why in respect of kogi, in spite of what happened, we came
out with public notice which invites the APC to submit its replacement
candidate for the election.”
Dazang
said as part of the commission’s preparation for the Bayelsa State
poll, INEC would be holding stakeholders’ forum in the state on Tuesday.
The deputy director added that INEC had concluded the distribution of non-sensitive materials for the Bayelsa State poll.
He also said the commission would be going to Central Bank of Nigeria
to collect sensitive materials for onward distribution for the Bayelsa
State election on Wednesday.
Dazang said: “After the stakeholders’ forum, the commission will
immediately on Wednesday commence the distribution of sensitive
materials in the state.
“We are inviting the representatives of political parties, their
agents, observers, Civil Society Organisations and the media, among
others, to witness the distribution of sensitive materials.”
Dazang said the commission would deploy its officers at National
Commissioners and Resident Electoral Commissioners levels from
neighbouring states to monitor the Bayelsa State election.
“You will agree with me that we don’t take any election for granted, no matter how small it is,” he said.
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