Says APC Has Legally Crashed Out Of Race With Audu’s Death
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare its candidate, Governor Idris Wada, as the winner of the November 21 governorship election in Kogi State.
The party is also seeking the exclusion of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the supplementary election slated for December 5. The INEC had declared the election inconclusive following the cancellation of the poll in 91 units across 18 local government areas in the state.
The party’s position was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of its national caucus meeting held in Abuja Wednesday night.
The communiqué, signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, insisted that with the death of the APC’s candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu , during the election, the APC has legally “crashed out” of the race.
Audu had died on Sunday, while the results of the election were still being collated. He had won in 16 out of the 21 local government areas in the state and leading the PDP candidate with over 41,000 votes.
The INEC has declared the election inconclusive, citing irregularities and violence that led to the cancellation of the election in 91 polling units across 18 LGAs.
The electoral body had declared the election inconclusive and offered to conduct supplementary election in units where the election was cancelled. It had also given the APC a window to field a substitute candidate for the supplementary poll.
But the PDP condemned the INEC’s position, saying no known law or constitutional provision allowed the substituting of candidates, once the ballot process has commenced. The party has threatened to challenge INEC’s decision in court.
“The PDP completely rejects the decision of INEC in yielding to the unlawful prompting of a clearly partisan Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mallam Abubakar Malami, to allow APC to substitute a candidate in the middle of an election, even when such has no place in the Constitution and the Electoral Act.
“With the unfortunate death of Prince Abubakar Audu, the APC has no valid candidate in the election, leaving INEC with no other lawful option than to declare the PDP candidate, Capt. Idris Wada, as the winner of the election,” the communiqué said.