Audu: Legal war begins

•INEC assembles advisory team as APC govs
vow to keep mandate
From Romanus Ugwu, in Lokoja
AS confusion and legal crisis trail the
inconclusive Kogi State governorship election
following the death of the All Progressives
Congress (APC) candidate, Prince Abubakar
Audu, the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) will today meet with a
consortium of lawyers to find a constitutional
solution to the situation. This is even as the APC
governors said they will not surrender their Kogi
State mandate.
An impeccable INEC source who spoke to Daily
Sun in confidence in Abuja yesterday, revealed
that after several hours meeting of the National
Com- missioners and the Chairman, Prof.
Mahmood Yakubu, the eggheads of the electoral
umpire have resolved to meet with a consortium
of lawyers today.
Our source further revealed that the meeting with
the consortium, involving several legal
luminaries, became very expedient following the
commissioners’ inability to find a lasting legal
and constitutional solution to the governorship
election problem in Kogi.
Asked if the commission will contemplate fresh
election due to the death of the APC governorship
candidate, our source said it was a very difficult
decision for the National Com- missioners and
the chairman to take during the meeting
especially as there was no provision for such,
both in the Electoral Act and the 1999
Constitution.
While stressing that INEC is left with no option
than to make extensive consultation with the
consortium of lawyers, our source noted: “It is
true that the INEC Chairman, Prof. Yakubu met all
day with the National Commissioners on Monday
(yesterday) to find a lasting solution to the Kogi
inconclusive governorship election.
“However, they could not arrive at any decision
because of the legal implication of such decision.
You know that there is a legal lacuna and the
absence of such provision in both the Electoral
Act and the Constitution made the situation even
more complicated.
“At the end of that meeting, they could only
resolve to as- semble a consortium of legal
experts to find a lasting solution to the problem. I
can tell you that by the time they meet them on
Tuesday, the situation on the next line of action
concerning the Kogi governorship election will be
clearer.
“INEC is very cautious of taking a rash decision
that may not have legal backing. There- fore, the
involvement of the legal luminaries will provide
the clearer picture of the next line of action for
INEC to take,” the source noted.
Meanwhile, the APC governors said yesterday
they will stand by the Audu family. A statement
by the Chairman, APC Governors Forum, Owelle
Rochas Okorocha of Imo State and signed by
Esohe Eboigbe, the Acting Communication
Officer, the forum described Audu’s death as one
of the most tragic anti-climaxes in the Nigerian
politics.
Speaking on what becomes of the inconclusive
Kogi governorship election, the forum noted: “In
death, we celebrate a great son of Kogi State and
Nigeria. As Progressive Governors, we remain
resolute and shall stand by the family of Prince
Abubakar Audu, the defiantly progressive people
of Kogi State and Nigeria and our leaders of APC
at all levels to consummate the electoral vic- tory
of APC in Kogi State.
“It is with great shock that we received the news
of the death of Prince Audu, the candidate of our
great party APC for the Kogi State governorship
election held on November 21, 2015. His death is
indeed one of the most tragic anti-climaxes in
contemporary Nigerian politics,” it said.

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