By Wole Balogun, Ado Ekiti & Ndubuisi Orji
EKITI State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of encouraging anarchy by allegedly using his personal lawyer and member of All Progressives Congress (APC), who is the Attorney- General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to influence the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the inconclusive Kogi State governorship poll.
He accused the President of “fraudulently using the AGF to carry out an act which amounted to amending the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2010 to advance his ambition and that of his party to turn Nigeria to a one party state.”
In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor, who vowed to use all legal means to fight the “kangaroo” decision, noted that “only the Supreme Court can resolve issues not envisaged by the Constitution like the one that happened concerning the Kogi State governorship election.”
Governor Fayose noted that it was shameful that the first election held by the new INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, ended in controversy. He said the manipulation of the exercise and the commission’s illegal position on the substitution of APC candidate was a vindication of his earlier position that he was appointed to do the biddings of the Presidency and APC.
The governor, who said the fact that Prince Abubakar Audu died in the early hours of last Sunday and his death was kept secret until later that day pointed to the sinister plot.
“Having manipulated the election substantially, what they plotted by covering up Audu’s death for hours against Islamic injunction, was to declare a dead candidate as elected governor of Kogi State to pave the way for the emergence of his running mate as the governor-elect.”
Meanwhile, the African Democratic Congress(ADC), one of the political parties which participated in last Saturday’s election, has faulted INEC’s decision on the rerun.
National Chairman, Chief Okey Nwosu, while reacting to INEC’s insistence on going ahead with the supplementary election,occasioned by Audu’s death, accused the electoral body of impunity. He said his party would challenge the action in court.
In a statement issued yesterday, Nwosu said with Audu’s demise before the conclusion of the election, the right thing was for INEC to cancel the November 21 exercise and start afresh.SUN NEWS
