APC barred from contesting Bayelsa guber poll

November 14, 2019

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A federal high court sitting in Abuja has disqualified David Lyon, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa state.

In an order issued on Wednesday, Inyang Ekwo, the presiding judge, 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 Cable reports.

The court order, a copy of which was obtained by TheCable, 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, told TheCable 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.

This followed a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), seeking his disqualification.

In the fresh ruling, the court issued “an order setting aside or cancelling and annulling the nomination of the fourth defendant (Lyon) as governorship candidate of the first defendant in the Bayelsa state governorship election slated for November 16, 2019 or any other date thereabouts on the ground of failure of the first and fourth defendants (in) fielding a qualified or deputy governorship candidate of the first defendant in the said governorship candidate election of Bayelsa state.”

It also issued “an order restraining the first defendant from fielding any other governorship candidate or deputy governorship candidate upon the disqualification of the first and fourth defendants as prayed from sponsoring any other candidate and contesting in the forthcoming Bayelsa state governorship election slated for November 16, 2019, or any other date thereabouts.”

This is the third time in 2019 that APC will not field a governorship candidate in an election.

The party was disqualified from fielding candidates in Rivers and Zamfara states during the 2019 general election.