Prince Abubakar Audu

Ademola Adegbamigbe

The Nigerian media were left with sand in their mouths on Sunday after their precipitate declaration of the results of the Kogi governorship election results, ahead of the Independent National Electoral Commission. INEC’s many warnings that media demonstrate patience finally hit home: the media found themselves wrong in calling the election in Kogi and crowning the APC candidate, Abubakar Audu, the governor-elect.

But INEC finally ruled that the election was inconclusive and that the victor in the poll will not be known until rerun elections are held in 91 polling units in the state where results were cancelled for either violence or snatching of ballot boxes.

Citizens of Kogi trooped out on Saturday 21 November 2015 to elect a new governor. Two main gladiators were in the arena: Governor Idris Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Prince Abubakar Audu, a former governor who wanted to return to Lugard House on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Supporters of the two men predicted victory for them; even researchers went to town, forecasting who would win which local government area or Senatorial zone and the factors that would make it so.

Then Sunday morning, the results started rolling in with anxiety raising frequency. From the look of things, APC’s Audu was clearing the local governments the way a combined harvester would a field of wheat. Without waiting for INEC’s returning officer to do so, the Nigeria media online announced Audu winner! This was based on the results declared by the INEC, from the 21 local councils in the state, showing that Audu had won 16 and was clearly ahead of the PDP opponent and incumbent, Idris Wada. Audu cleared the following local government areas: Ofu, Ida, Kabba Bunu, Yagba East, Yagba West, Adavi, Koton Karfi, Ankpa, Okehi, Ajaokuta, Ijumun, Olamaboro, Igalamela, Bassa, Lokoja, and Ibaji. On the other hand, Wada won in five local governments namely Ogori Mangogo, Omala, Okene, Dekina and Mopa-moro.

In other words, he was governor-elect. The media only fell short of issuing the APC candidate a certificate of return.

Then two things happened that made the Nigerian media to swallow their exuberance. First, INEC declared the election inconclusive, notwithstanding the position of the media.

As the Returning Officer, Emmanuel Kucha (Vice-Chancellor of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi) put it, Audu scored 240,867 while Idris Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party garnered 199,514 votes adding that the difference between the scores of Audu and Wada is 41,353. It became  actually a matter of electoral Mathematics never envisaged by the media.

Kucha argued that the total number of registered voters in 91 polling units, in 18 local government areas, where election was cancelled, is 49,953. Consequently, he declared the election inconclusive, thereby deflating the hope of the APC candidate and his supporters.

The implication of the foregoing , therefore, is that no winner could be declared until supplementary election is held in the affected areas. Yet, the media had gone abroad to declare Audu winner!

What was not even envisaged by the media was the tragic drama of Audu’s death.  He died at around 3.10 pm. This was confirmed by an APC top notcher  who reacted to TheNEWS enquiry with a text message: “Yes, Dead”.

This medium’s investigation showed that Audu suffered a massive stroke this morning. He was said to have fallen ill after casting his vote yesterday and was vomiting blood. Although doctors attended to him, his condition got worse this morning and died before a proper medical care could be provided.

What happened in Kogi today was similar to that of Taraba State when the APC candidate, Aisha Alhassan, was declared governor-elect by the media, in the aftermath of the 11 April governorship election in the state. However, the election was declared won by the PDP candidate Darius Ishaku.  Alhassan had since gone to court to prove the media right and regain the mandate the media had given her !

The media were also wayward  during the 2015 presidential election in Nigeria,  declaring  Muhammadu Buhari winner, two days  before the INEC boss, Professor Attahiru Jega did.

The dramatic twists in Kogi must serve the media the greatest lesson of all to henceforth tarry awhile before making electoral victory declarations.

The media should let the authorities concerned do their job. Otherwise, they would become objects of ridicule  in the world.  It is a lesson they must all bear in mind as we approach another crucial election in the oil-rich Bayelsa State on 5 December.