Court dismisses Faleke’s application to nullify Yahaya Bello’s emergence as Kogi state Governor

An appeal filed by James Faleke, ex-running mate of former APC governorship candidate in Kogi state, Abubakar Audu, James Faleke, to nullify the installation of Yahaya Bello as the APC candidate in the state’s governorship election has been dismissed by the Appeal court sitting in Abuja.

After the sudden demise of Audu on November 22nd last year, Yahaya was replaced as the APC candidate for the state governorship election.

Faleke had approached the court to argue that the votes polled by the party in the election were his, since he was the running mate of the deceased, Abubakar Audu. Ruling on his appeal today, Justice Jummai Sankey noted that according to Section 221 of the Nigerian constitution, only the party, not an individual, could canvass for votes. Justice Sankey in her ruling, stated that the Nigerian constitution does not recognise independent candidature and so Faleke cannot lay claim to the number of votes polled before the demise of Audu and after the election was concluded.

Justice Sankey added that Faleke was only paired with Audu after the primaries had been concluded but Bello participated in the primary election that produced Audu as the party’s flagbearer.