Kogi Governorship Tussle: Things You Must Know
Wada was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, while Faleke was the running mate to the late candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abubakar Audu in the November 21, 2015 election.
As Nigerians await the judgment of the Supreme Court, Daily Trust chronicles some of the events that led to the tussle
2015
November 21: Election was held in the state to elect a governor. The leading candidates were then incumbent governor and Candidate of PDP, Idris Wada and former governor and candidate of APC, Abubakar Audu.
November 22: Early results favoured Audu of APC. Audu won majority votes in 16 out of the 21 local government areas.
November 22: INEC declared Kogi governorship election inconclusive
November 22: Uneasy calm in Kogi state following the death of prince Abubakar Audu at the peak of the realization of his ambition to return to Lugard House as governor of the state.
The Kogi state government declared a seven-day mourning and one day public holiday in honour of the late first civilian governor of the state, who died at his country home Ogbonicha.
November 24: INEC said it will hold a supplementary election in Kogi state to conclude the governorship polls. INEC in a notice published on its website said it will allow the APC to substitute its candidate and proceed to conclude the election.
November 24: PDP rejected the position of INEC that the APC should provide another candidate in replacement for its governorship candidate in Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu, who died on November 22.
The PDP said the implication of the INEC's decision is that the APC would be fielding two candidates for one election, stressing that it is an attack on democracy and unknown practice in the country’s politics.
November 26: James Abiodun Faleke, the running mate to late Prince Abubakar Audu wrote INEC to declare him governor-elect.
The letter by his lawyer Wole Olanipekun, marked ‘Very Urgent,’ said based on the outcome of the election, INEC was wrong to declare the election inconclusive in the first place.
He said since Audu died in an unexpected circumstance, he should be the beneficiary of the votes cast because it was a joint ticket as provided for by law.
November 27: Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Kogi State House of Assembly advised the party’s leadership to consider Muhammed Audu, the son of the late Prince Abubakar Audu as the governorship candidate ahead of December 5 supplementary election. They gave the advice after holding a meeting with the APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun.
November 27: Idris Wada and his party, PDP asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to declare Wada winner of the inconclusive governorship election. In a suit filed on their behalf by Chief Chris Uche (SAN), Wada said in view of the death of Abubakar Audu, he should be declared the winner of the botched election being the only surviving candidate with the majority of lawful votes cast in the election held on November 21.
Wada also asked the court to compel INEC to issue him with a certificate of return.
November 30: There were protests in parts of Kogi state over the choice of Alhaji Yahaya Bello, who came second during the APC primary elections to take Audu’s place on the ballot.
Prince Audu was on the verge of winning the election when he died suddenly.
December 1: The leadership of the APC was thrown into another round of confusion when James Faleke, who was the running mate to the late Prince Abubakar Audu rejected the deputy governorship slot ahead of Saturday’s supplementary election.
Faleke, spoke with journalists after hours of meeting with Chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led APC National Working Committee (NWC), said he could not accept the offer because he was already governor-elect.
December 4: A Federal High Court in Abuja struck out the suits seeking to halt the Kogi State governorship supplementary election.
In his judgment, Justice Gabriel Kolawole ruled that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the suits because the issues did not arise from a post-primary election of a political party but from actual voting.
December 6: INEC returning officer for Kogi governorship election, Emmanuel Ucha, declared APC’s Yahaya Bello as the winner of the governorship poll.
December 6: PDP said its governorship candidate in Kogi State Captain Idris Wada is the governor-elect, stressing that declaring Yahaya Bello of the APC as winner by INEC was a waste of time.
December 6: The APC Campaign Council of the Kogi State Governor-elect, Alhaji Yahaya Bello pleaded with Hon James Abiodun Faleke and other aggrieved party members to accept the new development as the wish of God.
December 21: Mr James Abiodun Faleke, filed a suit at the Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Lokoja to challenge his non declaration as the Kogi governor-elect.
Faleke, who was at the tribunal in company of late Audu’s son, Mohammed Abubakar Audu and other supporters, said he was there to reclaim the Audu/Faleke ticket.
December 22: Idris Wada filed a petition, challenging the return of Alhaji Yahaya Bello as winner of the November 21, and December 5, state governorship election.
2016
January 11: Members of the Kogi West Elders’ Forum expressed support for Alhaji Yahaya Bello, saying his emergence was God ordained for progress of the state.
The forum, while expressing its support with the decision of the APC national leadership over the Kogi governorship debacle, however, noted that an interim committee will be put in place to select a credible candidate that will be on standby to fill the deputy governorship slot.
January 24: The Kogi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, sitting in Lokoja, dismissed two motions seeking interlocutory injunction to stop the inauguration of Alhaji Yahaya Bello as the governor of the state.
January 27: Yahaya Bello was sworn in as the executive governor of Kogi a State.
Bello took his oath of office at about 12 noon before the Kogi’s chief judge, Justice Nasiru Ajana.
February 9: Mr Simon Achuba was sworn in as Kogi State deputy governor. This followed the confirmation of his nomination by Governor Yahaya Bello.
Achuba was confirmed for the position by the Kogi State House of Assembly as a replacement for the embattled James Faleke, the running mate of late Prince Abubakar Audu, who is now in the courts seeking to be declared governor.
February 15: Five lawmakers out of the present 20-member assembly said they have impeached the Speaker, Momoh Jimoh Lawal.
The group of five named Umar Imam, representing Lokoja 1 constituency as the new speaker of the house, Friday Makama as the new majority leader, Lawi Ahmed as the deputy majority leader and John Abba as the new chief whip.
February 23: Pre-hearing at the Kogi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja was stalled after Governor Yahaya Bello brought some preliminary objections against the six petitions challenging his emergence as governor.
March 7: APC asked the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Abuja to dismiss the petition filed by Idris Wada. The party said the petition lacked merit and competence.
March 9: Pre-hearing at the Kogi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja, was adjourned to March 14 to enable parties consolidate their applications in the six petitions challenging the emergence of Alhaji Yahaya Bello as governor.
The chairman of the tribunal, Justice Halima Mohammed, adjourned the matter after counsels in the matter agreed to limit the number of witnesses and time for the pre-trial session.
March 9: The House of Representatives took over the functions of the Kogi State House of Assembly over the crisis that engulfed the assembly in the last one month.
In taking the decision at plenary, the House said its action was in line with the provision of Section 11 (4) of the 1999 Constitution, which says the National Assembly could take over the functions of any state assembly that is enmeshed in crisis.
March 15: The group of 15 in the Kogi State House Assembly, led by embattled Speaker Momoh Jimoh Lawal, insisted that Governor Yahaya Bello was the brain behind the lingering impasse in the state House of Assembly.
Briefing journalists in Lokoja, spokesman of the group, Mathew Kolawole, expressed concerns over the purported impeachment of Lawal by a group of five lawmakers, whom he alleged acted under the cover of the executive arm of government.
March 17: The Senate unanimously concurred with the House of Representatives on the Kogi State House of Assembly saga. The Senate declared that the impeachment proceedings embarked upon by five members of the assembly was null and void.
March 22: Speaker Umar A. Imam-led group in the Kogi State House of Assembly had their sitting in Lokoja, in defiance of the order from the Senate and House of Representatives that the assembly be sealed.
May 18: A Federal High Court in Abuja reinstated the supposedly impeached Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Momoh Jimoh Lawal, and other principal officers of the House.
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba in his judgment held that the process for the removal of the principal officers was not in accordance with Sections 92(2) (c) and 96 of the 1999 Constitution.
June 6: Kogi state Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja dismissed a petition filed by James Faleke, against the candidacy of governor Yahaya Bello for lacking locus standi to file the petition.
June 7: The Kogi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja dismissed the petition of former governor Idris Wada challenging the election of Governor Yahaya Bello.
The chairman of the tribunal, Justice Halima Mohammed, ruled that Wada failed to prove the allegations of substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act in the November 24 and December 5, 2015 governorship election against Bello.
July 27: The embattled speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Alhaji Momoh Jimoh Lawal, resigned from office after months of leadership tussle that bedeviled the state legislature.
August 4: The Appeal Court in Abuja upheld the election of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State in the November 21 and December 5, 2015 governor he ship election with a judge dissenting.
In a unanimous judgment by a five-member panel of justices, the appellate court upheld the verdict of the Kogi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja, which dismissed James Faleke's petition.
The appeal by former governor, Idris Wada of the PDP was dismissed by four of the five member panel with a judge dissenting on the ground that Governor Bello, who did not participate in all the stages of the election, is not validly elected governor of the state.
However, the dissenting voice, Justice Obande Festus Ogbuinya, cancelled the election, ordered the withdrawal of the governor's certificate of return and the conduct of fresh election in the state.
September 20: The Supreme Court will deliver judgment in two separate appeals filed by former governor of Kogi State, Idris Wada, and former governorship running mate to late Prince Abubakar Audu, James Faleke, challenging the election of Governor Yahaya Bello.
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