BEVERLY HILLS, JULY 26, (THEWILL) – The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Tuesday reserved August 4 for ruling on an appeal filed by James Faleke against the decision of the election tribunal which upheld the election of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.
Faleke was the running mate to late Audu Abubakar, the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate who died before the governorship elections were concluded on November 21, 2015.
THEWILL recalls that Halima Mohammed, Chairman of the tribunal, had thrown out the petition of Faleke, saying he lacked the locus standi to challenge the nomination of Bello to replace the late Audu since he was never a deputy governor-elect.
However, Faleke’s lawyer, Wole Olanipekun, urged the Court of Appeal to set aside the decision of the tribunal on the grounds that he Bello was not properly nominated.
He argued that Bello did not participate in all the electioneering processes as required by law before he emerged as his party’s candidate in rerun election.
“This is the first time where a governor that did not vote was named a governor,” Olanipekun told court.
However, Alex Iziyon, counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), argued that the votes were meant for the party and not a candidate and asked the court to dismiss Faleke’s appeal.
Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Hon. Momoh Jimoh Lawal, has resigned from the post.
Lawal, who was the leader of the G-15 group of lawmakers, dropped his letter of resignation to the clerk of the House on Tuesday.
“We are all aware of the needless pain, the leadership crisis that had engulfed this noble assembly in the past few months caused our constituents and retarded the development of our beloved Kigi State,” he wrote.
“I would have preferred to continue with the struggle for the entrenchment of democratic values, but the interest of Kogi State must always come before my personal considerations.
“Today, my resignation as Speaker of this House was a difficult decision, but I do believe it is the right thing to do. This I am sure will bring joy to some and anger to others.”
Story by David Oputah
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