The political career of the running mate of late Prince Abubakar Audu in the Kogi governorship election, Hon. James Faleke, appears to be heading for the rocks as indications emerged that he may lose his seat in the House or Representatives over the constitutionality of his membership at the House.
Following his insistence not to pair with Yahaya Bello as deputy governor after the Independence National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared the All Progressives Congress, APC, as winner of the governorship election, Faleke returned to the House of Representatives to resume his legislative duties.
Faleke, who is originally from Ekinrin Adde, Ijumu Local Government of the old Kabba province, a Yoruba speaking area of Kogi State, is representing Ikeja Federal constituency of Lagos State in the lower chamber of the National Assembly.
The lawmaker has always played his politics in Lagos.
He was a two-term chairman of Ojodu Local Council Development Area and a second term member of the House of Representatives, representing Ikeja Federal Constituency, Lagos.
During his time as a council boss in Lagos, Abiodun Faleke was the chairman of Forum 57, a forum of LGA and LCDA bosses in Lagos State.
However, after Faleke was picked as late Prince Audu’s running he transferred his INEC voters’ registration from Ikeja constituency to Kogi State to enable him meet the constitutional requirement to contest the election.
With his name out of the voters register in Lagos State, Faleke severed his relationship with the Ikeja Federal constituency.
However, the INEC guidelines for election into the National Assembly makes it mandatory that only people who are registered in a constituency as voters can represent the constituency in any of the legislative Houses.
The person shall also must be nominated by 20 persons from at least two-thirds of the wards in the local government or Area Council making up the constituency.
According to Section 4 of the guideline issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria in exercise of the powers vested in it by Section 4 of Decree No. 17 of 1998 as amended, a person shall be qualified to contest the Presidential or National Assembly elections if:
(a) He is ordinarily resident in the constituency in which he intends to contest the election or is an indigene of that constituency;
(b) He is registered as a voter in the Constituency in which he intends to contest the election or is an indigene registered anywhere in the country;
(d) in the case of House of Representatives election, he has been nominated in writing by twenty persons from at least two-thirds of the wards in the local government or Area Council making up the constituency and whose names appear on the register of voters for the Federal Constituency in respect of which the election is to be held.”
Nigerian Pilot Saturday also reliably gathered that opponents of Hon. Faleke are waiting for the swearing in of Yahaya Bello before they move to unseat Faleke.
It was gathered that if Faleke makes good his threat not to be sworn-in as Kogi deputy governor, INEC will be petitioned to remove him as representative of Ikeja federal constituency since he is no longer a registered voter in the constituency.
