APGA calls for fresh governorship election in Kogi

The All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and Goodman Akwu, its candidate in the November 21 governorship election in Kogi state, have called for fresh governorship election in the state.

Akwu made the call in Abuja on Monday during cross-examination at the resumed hearing of petition which he and his party filed before the tribunal.

The petitioner was cross-examined by Abdullahi Aliyu, counsel to Yahaya Bello, governor of the state.

“The tribunal is our last hope, we are not in conformity with what happened in Kogi; we are calling for a fresh rerun election that will be free and fair,” he said.

“I don’t know how one starts a race with a person and at the middle it was turned to a relay race with another person.

“So, we are calling for a fresh election with a candidate that will fulfill the requirement of the law.”

He also told the tribunal that the nomination of each candidate at the party level was brought to a close on September 22, 2015, with any substitution to be effected on or before October 7.

Akwu said the election of Bello did not follow the due process as provided by the law.

“I agreed that some of the documents I filed were accessed from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) website,” he said.

“I was also not present when the All Progressives Congress conducted its primary election.

“The governorship election started November 21 and ended December 5, and it is the name of the parties that were on the ballot papers in both elections and not the names of the candidates.”

Akwu had told the tribunal that there was no place in world where a candidate could inherit votes he was not part of the process.

He said the process in which Bello became the governor was a strange process that needed to be challenged.

The APGA candidate called on the tribunal to do justice to his petition and closed his case.

Halima Muhammad, chairman of the tribunal, adjourned the matter till April 12 for the defence to open its case.

Bello was the candidate who replaced Bello following the death of Abubakar Audu, candidate of the APC in the November 21 poll.