The Attorney General of the Federation
(AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), and the Chairman,
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu,
have been urged by an accredited observer at the inconclusive Kogi State
governorship, Coalition of Civil Society Group (CCSG), to resign their
appointments, saying their stance on the state election was capable of
discrediting it.
Its Coordinator, Abubakar Suleman, made this known at a press conference yesterday in Abuja where he stated that the group has lost confidence in their leadership.
He noted that their actions was in total contrast with the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act, adding that it could not sit and allow the nation’s democracy suffer or be left in the hands of electoral umpire that cannot exert its independence and sanctity of the electoral process in the face of political turbulence.
Suleman stressed that: "The clear implication of this action of the AGF and INEC chairman is that APC would be fielding two different governorship candidates in the on-going Kogi State election which means that INEC would be transferring votes cast for late Prince Abubakar Audu to another candidate, a scenario that have no place in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The coordinator wondered why INEC as an electoral body capable of technical hands in its legal unit to advise the chairman appropriately would waited for directives from the AGF, a third party, who it accused of being partisan and also has a subjective interest in the electoral process in the state.
Suleman said: “A supposedly independent electoral umpire could allow itself succumb to the antics of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by following the unlawful directive of an obviously partisan AGF to substitute a candidate in the middle of the ballot process.
"It is on record that the two legal documents guiding INEC in the conduct of elections are the constitution and the electoral act which have provisions for electoral exigencies as well as empower the electoral body to take responsibility for any of its action or inaction without undue interference from any quarters whatsoever.
“We are therefore at a loss as to which sections of these two relevant laws INEC and AGF relied on in arriving at their bias decision to substitute in an on-going election even after the timelines for such has elapsed under all the rules,” he concluded.
He recall that INEC has fixed December 5 as the rerun date of the gubernatorial election it declared inconclusive.
Also worthy of note is that the APC last Monday replaced Alhaji Yahaya Bello in place of late Audu which has not gone down well with Chief Abiding Falake and has indeed headed to court to challenge the decision of the party.
Its Coordinator, Abubakar Suleman, made this known at a press conference yesterday in Abuja where he stated that the group has lost confidence in their leadership.
He noted that their actions was in total contrast with the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act, adding that it could not sit and allow the nation’s democracy suffer or be left in the hands of electoral umpire that cannot exert its independence and sanctity of the electoral process in the face of political turbulence.
Suleman stressed that: "The clear implication of this action of the AGF and INEC chairman is that APC would be fielding two different governorship candidates in the on-going Kogi State election which means that INEC would be transferring votes cast for late Prince Abubakar Audu to another candidate, a scenario that have no place in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The coordinator wondered why INEC as an electoral body capable of technical hands in its legal unit to advise the chairman appropriately would waited for directives from the AGF, a third party, who it accused of being partisan and also has a subjective interest in the electoral process in the state.
Suleman said: “A supposedly independent electoral umpire could allow itself succumb to the antics of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by following the unlawful directive of an obviously partisan AGF to substitute a candidate in the middle of the ballot process.
"It is on record that the two legal documents guiding INEC in the conduct of elections are the constitution and the electoral act which have provisions for electoral exigencies as well as empower the electoral body to take responsibility for any of its action or inaction without undue interference from any quarters whatsoever.
“We are therefore at a loss as to which sections of these two relevant laws INEC and AGF relied on in arriving at their bias decision to substitute in an on-going election even after the timelines for such has elapsed under all the rules,” he concluded.
He recall that INEC has fixed December 5 as the rerun date of the gubernatorial election it declared inconclusive.
Also worthy of note is that the APC last Monday replaced Alhaji Yahaya Bello in place of late Audu which has not gone down well with Chief Abiding Falake and has indeed headed to court to challenge the decision of the party.
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