Following the uncertainties that have trailed the Kogi polls, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has called for the immediate resignation of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mallam Abubakar Malami.
Chief Olisa Metuh
The PDP called for the AGF’s dismissal from office for “harrying and misleading the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) into arriving at an unconstitutional decision to allow the APC to substitute its candidate in the inconclusive Kogi state governorship election”.
According to a statement signed by the opposition party’s spokesman, Olisa Metuh, the PDP said it is shocked that INEC could allow itself to succumb to the antics of the APC “by following the unlawful directive of an obviously partisan AGF to substitute a candidate in the middle of the ballot process”.
The party said: We are all aware that the two legal documents guiding INEC in the conduct of elections; the Constitution and the Electoral Act, have provisions for electoral exigencies as well as empower the electoral body to fully take responsibility for any of its actions or inaction without undue interference from any quarters whatsoever.
We are therefore at a loss as to which sections of these two relevant laws, INEC and the AGF relied on in arriving at their bizarre decision to substitute a dead candidate in an on-going election even after the timelines for such has elapsed under all the rules.
INEC as a statutory body has the full complements of technical hands in its legal department to advice it appropriately and we wonder why it had to wait for directives from the AGF, an external party, if not for partisan and subjective interest.”
The PDP stressed that it entirely rejects the move by the APC and INEC to flout the provisions of the constitution.
According to the statement, the actions of Mallam Abubakar Malami and INEC implies that the APC would be fielding two different governorship candidates in the on-going Kogi election.
PDP noted that the development means that INEC would be transferring votes cast for late Prince Abubakar Audu to another candidate.
They further stressed that such practice has no place in the constitution of the federation. scenarios that have no place in the constitution of the land.
The PDP also demanded an immediate resignation of the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, claiming that his leadership is partisan.
They added that the INEC as headed by Yakubu is morally bankrupt and obviously incapable of conducting a credible election within our laws.
It would be recalled that after so much speculation regarding the Kogi polls, INEC finally reached a decision to allow the APC fill the vacancy created by the demise of their candidate, Abubakar Audu.
Naij
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