Kogi State, in the last two years, has been in the news for a number
of political dramas and intrigues that have played out, testing the
nation’s democratic tenets and laws.
First was the death of a governorship candidate of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) in the November, 2015 governorship election,
Prince Abubakar Audu, who died on the brink of being declared winner of
the election
The chase to get a replacement to fill the vacant spot he left behind
threw up different political and legal challenges, and the Senate had
to make a sixth amendment to the 2010 Electoral Act, to address any
similar case in the future.
Yet again, the state is on the edge of challenging the nation’s laws
and young democracy with another firsts that may become historic
landmarks and reference points.
The state governor, Yahaya Bello, and the senator representing the
western constituency, Dino Melaye are in their separate battles on the
verge of changing the political narrative, as they may each have to
struggle to retain their seats in cases that have no precedent in the
nation’s political history.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recently accused
Governor Bello of double registration as a potential voter.
The commission alleged that Bello who previously registered to vote
in Abuja, in January 2011, was again registered at the Government House
Lokoja, on May 23, 2017, an allegation the governor has denied, and even
said the commission may have registered a look-alike ghost, and not
himself.
But the commission has stood its grounds, even vowing to penalize its
officials who carried out the exercise, which it said was illegal.
A new twist has, however, been added to the drama, as INEC sources
informed that it has succeeded in retrieving a back-up Direct Data
Capture (DDC) machine on what transpired between the governor and the
INEC team.
He said the commission will engage experts to download data in the
machine, which will reveal how the governor’s name disappeared from the
voter register.
According to the source, “Those who tampered with the DDC used to
register the governor don’t know that every machine has a back-up. We
will engage experts to analyse the CVR conducted on May 23 in Lokoja and
how the governor’s name purportedly got missing.”
Section 117 of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) recommends
sanctions for voters who have registered more than once, being in
unlawful possession of a voter card, selling or buying of voter card.
The punishment for such an electoral offence is “a fine not exceeding N100,000 or imprisonment for one year or both.”
The questions now are: Will INEC be able to prove a wrongdoing on the
part of Bello? If it does, will Bello as a sitting governor undergo
trial, or will he be shielded by the immunity clause from prosecution
over such an electoral offence?
It would be a first that would test the nation’s laws, as there is no precedent to fall on. Senator Melaye, on his part, is fighting a recall battle initiated by
his constituents who feel unsatisfied with his performance as a federal
lawmaker. The petition for his recall was said to have been signed by
188,588 voters from electorate in the senatorial district, representing
about 52.3 per cent of the district’s registered voters.
Although the senator claimed many of the signatories were forged,
they were however delivered to the the electoral umpire in Abuja, which
not only acknowledged receipt, but has fixed a date for verification of
the signatories.
In his bid to halt the process, Melaye informed that he had dragged
INEC to court, but had yet to give details of the relieves he is seeking
from the court. With the date for verification process fixed, and Melaye’s suit
filed, the drama has just begun in another first that also has never
happened before in Nigeria’s political history; a move to recall a
lawmaker.
The questions now are: Will Melaye get reprieve of the court to stop
the action geared towards his recall? Or, will INEC follow through with
the process? Also, will a constituent take advantage of the law, and
actually recall a senator?
As the two separate dramas play out, Nigerians, and indeed, political
historians are watching to see how the laws on paper will actually
provide guides, in the reality of Nigeria’s democratic journey.
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