Following his persisted refusal to work with governor-elect, Yahaya Bello, the All Progressives Congress has stated its position on the fate of James Faleke, the running mate to the late Abubakar Audu.
Faleke and Bello
The APC chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun has disclosed that Faleke may be replaced if the need arise, Leadership reports.
He made this declaration on Wednesday, December 9, in a media chat.
Faleke had gone to court to compelled Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare him winner of the gubernatorial election that was declared inconclusive. The court did not grant his request.
He also refused to pair with Bello whose his party had substituted as it governorship candidate after the demise of Audu.
READ ALSO: INEC Presents Certificate Of Return To Yahaya Bello Today
The APC chairman said: “On the Faleke issue, it is rather a straightforward and easy issue; we have replaced a governorship candidate.
“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.’’
The late Audu’s running mate had also threatened not to be available on the swearing-in on January 27, 2016.
Responding to Faleke’s threat, Odigie-Oyegun said: “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.’’
READ ALSO: Exclusive: APC Rejects Yahaya Bello’s Deputy Choice
He said that the party was not disturbed by the cases in court on the Kogi situation, stating that it was still evolving.
‘’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,’’ the APC chairman said.
Meanwhile,Faleke had resumed full legislative duty on Tuesday, December 8, just 72-hour after the conclusion of the supplementary governorship election in Kogi state.
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