You have no legal right to petition Governor Bello – Tribunal tells Faleke

hehehe...Kogi State Election Tribunal sitting in Abuja on Monday said the running mate to deceased All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate in the November 21, 2015 election in Kogi State, James Faleke lacks the legal right to challenge the emergence of Governor Yahaya Bello.
Justice Halima Mohammed-led three-man panel held that Faleke does not have the “locus standi” to file the petition.


The tribunal held that the party nominated Bello and not Faleke as Audu’s replacement and as such, it lacked the jurisdiction to question internal process of the party leading to the nomination for Audu’s replacement.

Falake had filed a petition before the election tribunal asking that Bello’s emergence as the party’s governorship candidate was unlawful.
He urged the tribunal to declare that the election conducted by the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, before Audu’s death was already won and that he had already emerged as the deputy governor-elect.
Faleke also urged the tribunal to declare him as the authentic replacement for the late Audu and be returned as the governor-elect.

The Kogi State governorship election tribunal sitting in Abuja today June 6th upheld the election of Kogi state governor, Yahaya Bello. Yahaya's election was challenged by House of representatives member, James Faleke, who was the running mate of late Prince Abubakar Audu.


Faleke had asked the tribunal to nullify Yahaya's election and declare him governor since he was the running mate of Audu who suddenly died hours before they were to be declared winners of the state governorship election in November last year. APC had nominated Yahaya after Audu died.

The Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Halima Mohammed, in upholding Yahaya's election, threw out Faleke's petition for lacking in merit.