Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday dragged the Federal Government, All Progressives Congress, APC, and Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to court over plan to substitute the candidacy of late Abubakar Audu in the inconclusive gubernatorial election in Kogi State.

Rising from an emergency National Caucus meeting in Abuja, the party also demanded that INEC returns the incumbent governor, Capt. Idris Wada as winner of the November 21st gubernatorial election, as the APC candidate, who was leading in the inconclusive election died during the process.

The party also said the proposed supplementary election would no longer be necessary as APC is not backed by either the constitution or electoral laws to substitute its candidate within the election period.

The resolutions of the caucus are that it: “Completely rejects the decision of INEC in yielding to the unlawful prompting of a clearly partisan Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Mallam Abubakar Malami, to allow APC to substitute a candidate in the middle of an election, even when such has no place in the Constitution and the Electoral Act.

“Insists that with the death of its candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu, the APC has legally crashed out of the governorship race as no known law or constitutional provision allows the substituting of candidates, once the ballot process has commenced.

“Insists that with the unfortunate death of Prince Abubakar Audu, APC has no valid candidate in the election, leaving INEC with no other lawful option than to declare the PDP candidate, Capt. Idris Wada as the winner of the election.

“Notes that the combine reading of the provisions of the constitution and Electoral Act does not in any war whatsoever support the substitution of candidates for election in the middle of the ballot process.”

Credit: NationalMirror