The recent death of Abubakar Audu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State's governorship election, has sparked a constitutional crisis. At the time of his death, Audu was leading his closest challenger, Idris Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), by 41,353 votes. However, the election was declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) due to the cancellation of 91 polling units, which had over 49,953 votes. This has raised questions about whether the election should be cancelled or if Audu's death would allow the APC to substitute him with another candidate.

Key Takeaways:

The death of Abubakar Audu has created a constitutional crisis in Kogi State, with the election declared inconclusive by INEC.
The APC is considering substituting Audu with another candidate, but this may be complicated by the fact that the election was already conducted, and results have been announced for some areas.
Constitutional lawyers are divided on what should be done, with some arguing that the election should be cancelled and a new one held, while others suggest that the supplementary election should be held and a winner declared.
The case has sparked debates about the interpretation of Section 181 of the 1999 Constitution, which deals with the role of the vice president in cases where the president-elect dies before inauguration.
The death of Audu has also raised questions about the role of the deputy governor in cases where the governor-elect dies before inauguration.
The Supreme Court's ruling in the Adamawa state case in 1999, where Atiku Abubakar was declared governor-elect despite Obasanjo's decision to replace him as vice president, may be seen as relevant to the current situation.

Statistics:

41,353: The number of votes by which Audu was leading his closest challenger, Idris Wada, at the time of his death.
49,953: The number of votes in the 91 cancelled polling units that exceeds the margin between the two leading candidates.
14 days: The timeframe within which INEC can appoint a new date for the election as per Section 36(1) of the Electoral Act.
100%: The turnout required of Wada's supporters for him to emerge as the winner in the supplementary election.
1: The person who may step into the position of the governor-elect as per the Supreme Court's ruling in the Adamawa state case in 1999.

Sources:

"By Ibanga Isine and Sani Tukur Nov 23, 2015 (Premium Times/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX)"