The Attorney General of the Federation and
Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami, says for
the inconclusive Kogi State
governorship election,
the APC will only need to
substitute its
candidate, Abubakar Audu, who died on Sunday.
Malami said this while speaking at a seminar
organised by the Nigerian Law Reform
Commission on the reform of the National
Environmental Standards and Regulation
Enforcement Agency (Establishment) Act in
Abuja today November 24th.
“The issue is very straightforward.
Fundamentally, Section 33 of the Electoral
Act is very clear that in case of death, the
right for substitution by political a political
party is sustained by the provisions of
section 33 of the Electoral Act. And if you
have a community reading of that section
with Section 221 of the Constitution, which
clearly indicates that the right to vote is the
right of a political party and and the party in
this case, the APC has participated in the
conduct of the election. It is therefore
apparent that the combination community
reading of the two provisions does not leave
any room for conjecture. APC as a party is
entitled to substitution by the clear
provisions of section 33 of the Electoral Act.
Also Section 221 of the Constitution is clear
that the votes that were cast were cast in
favour of the APC. Arising from that
deductions, it does not require any legal
interpretation. The interpretation is clear:
APC will substitute, which right has been
sustained by Section 33 of the Electoral Act.
So be it. The supplementary election that
has to be conducted along the line.”he said
On whether or not the Audu Abubakar's running
mate can be substituted as the party's
governorship candidate in the supplementary
election, Malami said
“It all depends on the appreciation of issues
arising from the primaries conducted before
now. There was a first and a second
candidate. That primaries that had taken
place over time had not by anyway been
nullified. And it is recognized by law. But
then a further consideration would be the
idea of conducting another primary but that
is not envisaged in view of the sustainability
of the first primaries.”.