Reports have it that the leadership of the APC have reached the crossroads concerning the replacement for the late Abubakar Audu in the forthcoming election in Kogi state with the interference of Tinubu who is fielding a candidate.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu
There were indications last night that leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were still divided over the choice of Alhaji Yahaya Bello as the party’s candidate for next Saturday’s supplementary governorship election in Kogi State, according to the Leadership.
While the national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu and a group loyal to him in the party are insisting that Yahaya Bello’s name be withdrawn for Hon James Faleke (late Prince Abubakar Audu’s running mate) following the submission of Bello’s name by the party last Friday to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), other party chieftains have kicked against this saying Bello’s choice and subsequent nomination be maintained.
This is coming just as the INEC has given the APC until tomorrow to present a replacement for its late governorship candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu, for the Kogi supplementary election.
Reports emerged on Saturday that Bello who came second during the party’s governorship primaries on August 29, 2015 was chosen by the party to replace the late Audu after the demise of the governorship candidate, following INEC’s declaration of the Kogi governorship poll inconclusive.
It was gathered last night that although Bello had been nominated and his name submitted to INEC late Friday evening, some powerful stakeholders in the APC want his name replaced with that of late Audu’s running mate, Hon. James Faleke.
It was learnt that the bid by the party to present Bello as its new candidate reached a stalemate yesterday when leader of the party and former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu was said to have insisted that it was either Faleke or no one else stepped into the late Audu’s shoes.
The national chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun is worried APC may end up not fielding any candidate for the forthcoming supplementary elections in Kogi state.