AUDU’S DEATH: NOW WHAT?

It is the type of story you can’t make up. In the middle of a hotly contested election, while leading by a narrow margin, Prince Abubakar Audu dies. Now what? The APC candidate has tossed the legal system into a maelstrom, with many lawyers offering their views on what the possible solution might be. All agree on one thing: there is no precedent for something like this. The electoral act provides options for when a candidate passes away before an election and after he has been duly sworn in. But none of this applies here. Prince Abubaka Audu died after the elections began and before he could be sworn in. More importantly, he was yet to be declared winner. Politicians like to be prepared for everything. But it is safe to say that neither the APC nor PDP foresaw this happening—as evidenced by the persistent silence from both camps. In such situations, the ruling is likely to rely on several bylaws, with several potential decisions.

Forge On with the Election
Never mind the distracting case of a burial, the elections should still be held. That is the view offered by some lawyers. Jiti Ogunye, a constituional lawyer shared his views, calling on INEC to continue the election.
“The way forward is that the election will be concluded and a winner will be declared. One can hastily opine that the election will have to be cancelled because Audu, who was a leading candidate, is dead and that the election be conducted afresh.
“But Audu and Wada are not the only candidates in the election. The parties that were involved are more than the APC and the PDP and by law; no governorship candidate can emerge without a deputy governorship candidate. It is a joint ticket and the party is also involved and that is why in an election petition challenging an election, the candidate and the party can sue. For instance, in Ekiti state, Fayemi said he has accepted the result of the election but the APC said no and when to the tribunal. There is a shared destiny between the party, the deputy governorship candidate and the governorship candidate.”
He pointed out that Audu did not die before the election, which would have warranted a postponement as legally outlined int he electoral act.  “He didn’t die on the eve of the election to warrant a postponement because the Electoral Act and the constitution allow for the postponement of election if the candidate of a political party dies and provides for the substitution of a candidate. But in this case, the election has been conducted, certain results have emerged, some results have been cancelled and INEC has declared a supplementary election.”

Declare APC the Winner
In 2007, Rotimi Amaechi became governor of River State, without actually contesting an election. In making it decision, the Supreme Court ruled that it was the PDP presented on the ballot, which meant that the party—not a specific individual—won the election. So whoever was the candidate of the party would be declared governor.
This view was echoed recently echoed by Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN in an interview with Premium Times, ‘’In Adamawa, after Obasanjo picked Atiku, who had already won the governorship election in the state to be his running mate, the opposition led by Bala Takaya kicked against the decision to pick Haruna as a replacement for Audu. The opposition went to the Federal High Court to stop it and the matter dragged to the Supreme Court that it was right for Haruna, who was Abubakar’s running mate to become the governor. The opposition demanded for fresh election but that was rejected by the Supreme Court.”
Like most lawyers, Ngigie agrees that the situation is unique. ’This a peculiar situation. What is happening now is a combination of a lot of issues. In Rotimi Amaechi’s case the court ruled that it was the party that owned the ticket. It also said that the party owned the votes. So, such a scenario may play up this time again. The situation we have at hand is called a reccondite situation in law. And it will require a lot of interpretations. I foresee a very stormy and testing period for INEC. The judiciary will also be put on trial.
Audu may have passed away, but for a few hours on Sunday, he was considered by many to be the Governor Elect, signifying a win for the APC. One suspects that within the APC, there are bylaws on what to do to replace a deceased candidate—most likely choosing the next runner up in the primaries.
The problem with this approach is that APC were yet to win the election. INEC ruled the result inconclusive because the margin of Audu’s win over Wada (41,000) was less than the canceled voted (49,000). This means that Wada could still become governor if he was somehow able to make up the deficit by winning a 100% of the cancelled votes.

Declare Wada the Winner
If a court should rule that Audu’s death somehow invalidates his party’s right to the office, then room would be open for Wada’s potential return as governor. But this is less likely a decision than the former because it does a disservice to the other candidates. PDP and APC are undoubtedly the two major political powerhouses in the country. But it is important to remember that they are not the only parties involved in an election. INEC’s final list for candidates vying for the position lists no less than 22 different candidates, including Wada and Audu.
Which brings to fore the question: would the elections have been cancelled if any of the other candidates had passed away? Or is the gravity of the situation that much steeper because it involves one of the two major political heavyweights.

Announce a Fresh Election
It is still early, but already there are calls for a fresh election. Many consider this to be the fairest decision to all the candidates involved. The PDP is likely to point out–correctly–that without Audu, Wada’s victory would have been all but certain. The surest way to prove this is to conduct a fresh set of polls, scheduled for a date in the near future.
In an interview given to the Vanguard, Dr Tunji Braithwaite and legal icon observed that the unique situation in Kogi calls for a fresh governorship election in Kogi.
“If the front runner in an election drops dead, the next person with higher votes cannot automatically be declared winner. The deceased according, to INEC scored higher votes. Audu’s death calls for another election. The incumbent, Capt Idris Wada will continue as governor until another election. There must be another election.’’
When asked for his legal opinion, Barrister Bisi Adegbuyi, a stalwart of the Afenifere Renewal group, ARG echoed a similar view, ‘There is nothing other than holding another election. APC should be allowed to present another candidate. Since the election has not been concluded, the deputy governorship candidate cannot take his place, he is not the candidate,’

Reactions to Audu’s Death
A lot is still unclear as to the exact nature of Audu’s death. Some reports suggest he slipped into a coma shortly after returning from casting his vote on Saturday, while others claim that his death was brought on by the pressure of the election process. His death however puts into sharpness the finality of life and the increased pressure that comes with running a Nigerian office.
An aide best summed up the general opinion “To me I believed that his time was up; nothing any man can do to stop it”.
Audu was born on October 24, 1964.
The Nigerian Twittersphere has been all agog to know the exact cause of his death with so many speculations spreading. Below are some reactions on twitter….

 by Chinda Moses watchdognews