Oyegun to Faleke: Audu’s death shut you out

John Oyegun, chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says the death of Abubakar Audu, candidate  of the party in the November 21 election, “shut the gate of victory” against James Faleke, his running mate.

Speaking with reporters in Abuja on Wednesday, Oyegun said Faleke will be replaced as deputy governor-elect should the need arise.

After presenting Yahya Bello as the party’s candidate for the December 5 supplementary election, APC announced Faleke as Bello’s running mate but the deputy governorship candidate in substantive election, rejected the decision.

He asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare him governor-elect, and chose Audu’s son as his running mate.

Faleke argued that even if APC was to pick a candidate for the supplementary election, he ought to have been considered since he ran on a joint ticket with the deceased.

But Oyegun disagreed, saying the party had put the Kogi issue behind. He said with time, the “frustration which emanated” as a result of the demise of Audu, would be a thing of the past.

“On the Faleke issue, it is rather a straightforward and easy issue; we have replaced a governorship candidate,” he said.

“If the need arises and subject to what the law says, we will also get a deputy governorship candidate but we will cross those bridges as they arise but they have not arisen yet.

“As a political party, we simply understand the frustration that emanated from the death of Abubakar Audu. However, it is normal for us to accommodate the immediate reactions coming from the people involved.

“They were at the gate of victory but the gate was shut in their faces because of the unfortunate death of their mentor, Abubakar Audu, who would have been our governor in the state.

“So, a lot of things, which normally we would not have accepted, happened but we have to accept them so long that everybody will simmer down as time pass by. Wielding the big stick in a situation like this might not be appropriate but there will be a timeline to it, enough will be enough at a certain time.

“In the next few weeks. depending on who goes to court or who doesn’t, we will know the boundaries of the law in respect of these issues. As at now, we are very glad with the results that we have got and I’m very sure that they would be upheld virtually in every tribunal whatsoever, because we have adopted simple commonsense solution, legally defendable.

“We cross every bridge as we get to it; we’ll wait and see who does what and work out answers that meet each situation. We have thought the process through and we have won the election in Kogi/

“Those we feel aggrieved, it is for them to call to question whatever they feel aggrieved about and we are going to meet them on those grounds. For us in APC, Kogi is a settled issue; if you want to go to the tribunal, we’ll meet you there. If you want to go to court, we’ll meet you there.”

Oyegun said the party’s stance on the controversial Bill for an Act to Prohibit Frivolous Petitions and Other Matters known as the anti-social media bill was known.

He said the social media space needed clean up as the use of outright abuses and insults instead of constructive criticisms was wrong.

On subsidy, he said: “Whether subsidy goes or stays is an intricate and major issue.

“If it has to go, the government must have to construct the palliatives to cushion the effect of the hardships that may come on the ordinary Nigerian.

“Anyway, eventually, subsidy will have to go but we have not reached that stage yet.

‘’You cannot just wake up and announce that subsidy has been removed without putting the adequate programmes in place to cushion the negative aspects that may be involved.”

Oyegun said minimum wage was a delicate issue because there were a lot of forces at work.

“The economy was run aground so badly that they have to borrow to pay salaries and this was not the creation of APC,” he said.

“Today all governments are borrowing to pay salaries and that cannot be sustained. What the solution is on the longer term, the machinery of governance is still working on. There is no method that is adopted that will not create stresses on any system but at the end of the day, we will find an answer.”

Oyegun expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome of Bayelsa election, but said since INEC had made a pronouncement on it, the option before the APC was to accept it or go to court.

“We are waiting for the processes to be concluded, but I must say we have a lot of reservations about what has gone on up till the present moment,” he said.

“If we win as we expect to win, the kind of reactions that we’ll take will be different.”