Much has
been said about the confusion the demise of the late Governorship candidate of
the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 2015 elections in Kogi
State, Prince Abubakar Audu created, not only in the state, but particularly
within the party, but the untold story is a string of conspiracies that predated
his death.
According
to a source, who craved anonymity, intrigues and power play in anticipation of
2019 elections for those seeking certain political offices, are the main
reasons for the present political crisis in the state.
Our
source revealed that it was the political sagacity of the late Prince Audu that
saw him emerge as the party’s flagbearer in contrast to the wishes of certain
power blocks in the party’s hierarchy.
After the
emergence of Prince Audu, his choice of Hon. James Faleke as Deputy
Governorship candidate was frowned at by the same fifth columnists within the
party, which our source claimed is headed by no other person than the National
Chairman of the party, Chief Odigie Oyegun, who called the late Prince Audu to
question his choice of James Faleke, who they perceived as Asiwaju Bola Ahmed
Tinubu’s protégé, when all is being done to stunt the influence and reach of Tinubu
within the party.
Prior to
when the election was declared as inconclusive by the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) after the death of Prince Audu, Senator Dino
Melaye, our source revealed, played the role of a spoiler in the ensuing
confusion witnessed after the public declaration of Audu’s death.
Senator
Melaye allegedly sold a dummy of the probability of the late Prince Audu’s son,
Mohammed Audu to substitute his father.
After
legal considerations were taken into account, this plan was abandoned and
political leaders of the APC in Kogi East joined the team to actualize the
Audu/Faleke mandate that was given by Kogites on 21st November, 2015
with Hon. James Faleke as Governor and Alhaji Mohammed Audu as his Deputy.
A source
told us last week that the indecision of the state’s chapter of the party
created a lull that Alhaji Yahaya Bello exploited to smuggle his way back into
a party he not only abandoned, but assiduously worked against in the aftermath
of his loss in the primary election of the party.
A party
chieftain, who spoke to us anonymously, wondered why a party that was on the
verge of victory would gamble with its success to satisfy the ambition and
craving of some individuals within the party.
Legal
experts, who also spoke on the issue, opined that it was a pure mischief for
the leadership of the APC to accept the opinion expressed by the Attorney
General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN) on the Kogi election
debacle as law instead of approaching the courts for a legal interpretation of
the situation.
However,
a source within the party claimed the Kogi election crisis was contrived by
powerful forces within the APC to “curtail the overbearing influence of Asiwaju
Bola Tinubu as the emergence of James Faleke would have enhanced same.”
It was
also gathered that certain individuals from Kogi West, where James Faleke hails
from, such as Chief Clarence Olafemi, whose ambition to become Kogi State
governor would have received a death knell, treachously betrayed the quest to
actualize the Audu/Faleke mandate and was one of the first callers to Alhaji
Bello after the result of the supplementary election was declared.
Another
source informed us that this was not a surprise as Hon. Olafemi was alleged to
have been promised the Deputy Governorship slot even before the primaries. “He
was merely extracting his pound of flesh,” our source said.
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