The end of legal battle for the incumbent Governor of Kogi state may have not come yet as the suite challenging his eligibility has been assigned to a new judge.
It would be recalled that the incumbent Governor of Kogi state, Alh Yahaya Bello replaced the late Abubakar Audu who died at the verge of being declared the winner of the November 23rd Kogi gubernatorial election. The death of the APC standard bearer has since thrown the confluence state into what legal practitioners describes as ” Constitutional crisis and political logjam”.
Three different people have been laying claim to the coveted seat as legal occupants namely PDP Gubernatorial candidate and immediate past Governor of the State, Capt Idris Wada, running mate to the late Prince Abubakar Audu Prince James Faleke but the independent National electoral commission in the wake of the crisis demanded for a replacement of late Audu and the All Progressive Congress announced Alh Yahaya Bello as the replacement who later participated in the supplementary election was declared the winner of the election.
Alh Yahaya Bello has been sworn-in, the battle has since moved to the court for judicial pronouncement.
While the duo of Wada and Faleke have since proceeded to the tribunal after their various attempt to stop the supplementary election and subsequent swearing-in of Yahaya Bello suffered setback.
Meanwhile the Candidate of the Democratic Peoples Congress (DPC) Hon Phillip Koleola Ezekiel who approached the court on December 1st 2015 for the court to stop APC and INEC from making substitution for the late Abubakar Audu. While Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the federal high court adjudicated over the
The duo of Wada and Faleke, the court didn’t hear that of Philips Kolawole, this action prompted counsel to Philip Kolawole to petition the federal high court chief Judge for a reassignment of the case to another judge. Meanwhile, Justice Kolawole on the 9th of February ruled himself out of the case for it to be assigned to a new judge who will look at the issues raised with a fresh mind.
The case has however been assigned to Hon Justice BMF Nyako of Federal high court 4.
The prayers sought before the court among others are:
- Order declaring that given rise to Section 187(1) of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, that ALH Yahaya Bello is not qualified to be the candidate in the election
- A declaration that the certificate of return issued to Yahaya Bello is null and void
- Declaration that the swearing in of Alh Yahaya Bello is illegal, null and void. The case is yet to be given date for hearing.
