Ayodele Fayose, the Ekiti state governor has said that President Muhammadu Buhari is setting Nigeria on the path of anarchy with his alleged actions at the inconclusive gubernatorial election in Kogi state.
Fayose alleged that President Buhari used Abubakar Malami, his (Buhari’s) personal lawyer and member of All Progressives Congress (APC) who is the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and minister of justice, to influence the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the inconclusive Kogi State Governorship election.
In a report by Vanguard, Fayose said the president fraudulently used the AGF to carry out an act which amounted to amending the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria and the Electoral Act 2010 to advance his ambition and that of his party to turn Nigeria to a one party state.
Fayose, in a statement by his special assistant on public communications and new media, Lere Olayinka, vowed to use all legal means to fight the kangaroo decision on the Kogi State election.
He said: “only the Supreme Court can resolve issues not envisaged by the Constitution like the one that happened concerning the Kogi State governorship election.
“INEC further exposed its partisanship and undependability by relying on legal advice from the AGF, a man who has disobeyed the court severally and an interested party in the Kogi State election being a personal lawyer of President Buhari and a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).”
While alleging that Buhari and APC took to illegal amendment of the Constitution and the Electoral Act owing to the fear of facing a fresh election as a result of the malpractices perpetrated by the APC in the inconclusive election, Fayose averred that it was shameful that the first election held by the new INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu ended in controversy.
He also added that the manipulation of the Kogi State election and INEC illegal position on the substitution of APC candidate was a vindication of his earlier position that the INEC chairman was appointed just to do the biddings of President Buhari and his party.
“Having manipulated the election substantially, what they plotted by covering up Audu’s death for hours against Islamic injunction, was to declare a dead candidate as elected governor of Kogi State so as to pave way for the emergence of his running mate as the governor-elect.
“If all noble men should keep silent and get cowed by this rampaging beast that is ready to consume democracy and rule of law in Nigeria, ordinary Nigerians will sooner than later end up in the belly of the beast.
“The Lord will consume anyone plotting against me as He has always done.
“INEC should either conclude the election with APC not having a candidate or hold a fresh election with APC nominating a new governorship candidate. Anything outside these two options will mean that the Supreme Court must intervene.
“Section 33 of the Electoral Act only provided for substitution of a dead candidate before election, not during election. Also, the running mate would have become the governor-elect if the governorship candidate had been duly elected before he died. But in this case, the election was still in progress, meaning that Audu was a candidate like others when he died.
“Therefore, what INEC has done will mean that votes have now become an inheritance that the late APC governorship candidate, Abubakar Audu has willed to whoever that emerges as his substitute.
“It is like saying that Audu’s votes in the inconclusive election will now be inherited by another person. How logical is that?
“In a democracy, how can the Attorney General of the Federation and INEC turn themselves to the National Assembly that amends laws and the judiciary that interprets laws?
“The implication of all these is that it has become obvious that no one can get justice under this APC government and if this is the change they promised Nigerians, it appears that Nigeria is in serious trouble,” the governor blasted.
This is not the first time Fayose is taking a swipe at the president, as he also recently called the Nigerian leader a dictator over his alleged incarceration of Colonel Sambo Dasuki, Nigeria’s former National Security Adviser.
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