Confusion As Three Courts Give Conflicting Orders On APC Candidates In Bayelsa Poll

Three Nigerian courts within the last 48 hours have issued
conflicting orders concerning the Bayelsa State governorship
elections scheduled to take place within the next 48 hours!,
Thegavel ^[1]report.

Just less than an hour to the evening of Thursday November 14,
2019, an appellate court, the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja
ordered a stay of execution of the orders of a Federal  High
Court, Abuja, made at the closing hours of Wednesday November 13,
disqualifying David Lyon, the deputy governorship candidate of the
ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, from participating in the
Saturday election.

Meanwhile, another Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa,
Capital of Bayelsa state on Thursday November 14 also also threw
out the September 4 primary elections of the APC in the state for
going against the constitution and guidelines of the party.

INEC is therefore left in a quagmire on which order to obey.
However, Sarian Dangosu, INEC Publicity Secretary in Bayelsa State
said “the court did not say INEC should stop the election. The
court only said those who do not have candidates will be disallowed
therefore, the other 43 candidates will go to the polls.”

In an order issued on Wednesday, Justice Inyang Ekwo, of the
Federal High Court, Abuja, nullified Lyon’s nomination as the
party’s flag bearer in the forthcoming election over failure to
field a qualified deputy governorship candidate in the
election.

The court order also restricted the APC from fielding any other
governorship or deputy governorship candidate for the poll.

A top INEC official, who did not want to be quoted, said that
the commission has received the order, adding that the commission
would soon inform the public on its next line of action.

The judge had earlier disqualified Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo,
the party’s deputy governorship candidate, over “false information”
submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
for the November 16 election.

He had said Degi-Eremienyo gave false information in relation to
his educational qualifications and went ahead to depose to an
affidavit to correct the discrepancies.

Out of desperation, the defendants rushed to the Court of
Appeal, Abuja and got a stay of execution of the lower court order
which disqualified the All Progressives Congress (APC) from
participating in Saturday’s Governorship Election.

At the Court of Appeal, the APC Deputy Governorship candidate
was represented by Damian Dodo SAN. The Appeal Court granted and
made the following orders:

1. That the status quo ante bellum which existed on or before
the 19th September, 2019 when the suit was filed be maintained
pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.*

2. An interim order for stay of judgment of the lower court
delivered on 12th November, 2019 pending the hearing and
determination of the Motion on Notice.

3. The Motion on Notice to be heard on 20th November, 2019 and
the Respondents to be served with the Motion on Notice and and copy
of the Court Order.

Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, on Thursday nullified the
governorship primaries that produced Chief David Lyon as the
candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), for the Nov. 16
poll in the state.

Justice Jane Inyang of the court held that the APC primaries
held on September 4 was full of irregularities as it did not
followed the guidelines of the party and its constitution.

The suit was filed by one of the APC aspirants in the primary
election, Heineken Lokpobiri.

Justice Inyang held that since the primaries was conducted
against the rules spelt out in the APC constitution, none of the
aspirants should be fielded in the governorship elections.

She therefore restrained INEC from including the APC candidate,
Lyon in the Saturday election.

Meanwhile INEC is yet to make an official pronouncement on the
quagmire.