Embattled James Faleke of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi state has vowed to challenge the Court of Appeal verdict which threw out his appeal and affirmed the election of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.
This was contained in a statement by his Director of Media, Duro Meseko, shortly after the judgment in Abuja on Thursday. Faleke was the running mate to late Abubakar Audu in the November 21, 2015 Kogi State governorship election.
He said that he disagreed with the judgment and that there was the need for him to express his constitutional right by challenging the judgment in the Supreme Court.
The statement said: “We strongly condemn the judgement and believe that the Supreme Court, that is the custodian of Nigeria Constitution and the court of the people, will do justice to our case.”
Faleke said that the judgment was politically motivated and would not stand the test of time, saying that it was curious for the Court of Appeal to hold that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) manual for elections had a coordinate locus as the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Citing Section 187 of the constitution, Faleke said that it was wrong for the appellate court to rule that he could not be declared winner because he did not participate in the primary election of the APC.
He appealed to his supporters to be calm and go about their normal businesses, adding: “Victory shall be revealed at the Supreme Court.” [myad]
