Bayelsa 2019: No Governorship Candidate For APC - Court Declares

Justice Jane Inyang of the Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, has declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has no candidate for the November 16th governorship election in the state.

She gave the ruling in a case filed by Heineken Lokpobiri, one of the APC governorship aspirants in the state. Lokpobiri, a former minister of state for agriculture, had approached the court, asking it to declare him, and not David Lyon, the authentic candidate of the APC.

“The court pronounced that the governorship primary conducted by the APC in Bayelsa state was not done in compliance with the guidelines and the constitution of the party, and, therefore, the party has no candidate,” Mr Lokpobiri’s lawyer, Fitzgerald Olorogun, told reporters immediately after the court ruling.

Justice Inyang held that since the party's governorship primaries conducted on September 4th, was conducted in violation of the party’s constitution and guidelines as clearly spelt out for the conduct of governorship primaries, none of the aspirants should be fielded as the party’s candidate. 

Recall that on Tuesday November 12th, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, disqualified Mr David Lyon’s running mate, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, from participating in the forthcoming election on the grounds that he provided conflicting information on the documents he presented to INEC.

Justice Inyang in her ruling, also restrained the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), from including Lyon as the APC candidate in the governorship election slated for this Saturday November 16th.