KOGI SUPPLEMENTARY: Faleke Finally Takes Action

The deputy governorship candidate of the APC in the November 21 election in Kogi State, James Faleke, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to declare the election conclusive. Simple!

In a suit filed by his lawyers, including Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and Femi Falana (SAN), Faleke faulted the decision of INEC that the election was inconclusive and asked the court to restrain it from proceeding with its planned supplementary election.

Below are details of Faleke's case and the facts...
He is seeking a declaration that:

• election to the office of governor of a state can only be conducted in a manner expressly stipulated in section 179(2)(a),(b), (3)(a),(b), (4)(a),(b) and (5) of the Constitution;
• by the express provisions of sections 1(2) and 179(2)(a),(b), (3)(a),(b), (4)(a),(b) and (5) of the Constitution, the 1st defendant (INEC) is constitutionally bound to declare a candidate as duly elected to the office of governor of a state, who scores the highest number of votes cast at the election to such office, who also scores not less than one-quarter of all the votes cast in each of at least two-third of all the Local Governments Areas in the state; and a declaration that
• by the clear provisions of sections 1(2), 179(2)(a) and (b) and Paragraph 15(a) of the Third Schedule of the Constitution, read together with sections 27, 69 and 75 of the Electoral Act, the 1st defendant is bound to make a return on an election to the office of governor of a state where a candidate (a) scored the highest votes cast at the election and (b) scored not less than one-quarter of all the votes cast in each of, at least two-third of all the Local Government Areas in the state.

Faleke is also seeking an order setting aside the:

• 1st defendant’s decision that the governorship election held in Kogi on 21st November 2015 is inconclusive;
• ‘public notice’ issued by the 1st defendant on the 24th day of November 2015 titled: ‘Kogi governorship election 2015; and
• an order setting aside the directive contained in the ‘public notice’ issued by the 1st defendant on the 24th day of Novemeber 2015 and title: ‘Kogi governorship election 2015’, requesting the 2nd defendant (APC) ‘to fill the vacancy’ created by the death of its candidate.

All these issues would not have come up if the INEC returning officer was trained so that he would know that there is a difference between registered voters and those who collected PVC and can vote.