Executive Chairman, Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, Comrade Debo Adediran, on Friday in Lagos, took the ruling All Progressives Party, APC, the judiciary and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to the cleaners, over the judgment delivered by the supreme court on the governorship election in Bayelsa state.
Recall that The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Douye Diri, as the winner of the Bayelsa governorship election.
The Bayelsa State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed shock over Supreme Court ruling nullifying the election of its candidate, David Lyon as the Governor-elect for the state.
The Supreme Court today ruled that Lyon’s deputy Ereminyor submitted forged documents which disqualified the joint ticket and nomination and urged INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to them and reissue same to the next party with the require constitutional spread.
Doifie Buokoribo, the state APC Publicity Secretary, said the party was shocked at the development. “It is a shocking one but one thing that is clear is that the Dickson’s administration must leave tomorrow, there is no room for elongation of tenure not even for one minute.
“It is clear that only APC met the required spread as we won convincingly in five out of the eight Local Government Areas (LGAs), so without that spread I do not see how PDP can make it, certainly the Speaker of the state House of Assembly would be sworn in as Acting Governor.
“Those of them celebrating in the PDP camp are doing so in ignorance,” Buokoribo said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that before news of the judgement filtered into town, APC faithful were in high spirit preparing for the governor-elect inauguration on Friday.
But, chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, told journalists in Abuja that by the virtue of the Supreme Court’s judgment which disqualified APC candidates from the election, the total number of vote cast now stands at 146,999 and the candidate of the PDP scored 143,172 with geographical spread.
However, speaking with our correspondent on the outcome of the judgment, Debo stated that the Supreme Court does not care whose ox is gored, since APC violated the INEC rules and regulations on the fielding of aspirant.
The CACOL boss described APC as the victim of its arrogant for failing to set-up a screening committee to carry out due diligence check on the governorship aspirant in Bayelsa state before wasting financial and other resources to sponsor the election, was declared in favour of the PDP aspirant by the apex court.
He also took on the election regulatory body for failing to cross-check and be sure that the personal details, like names, qualifications and other information supplied by the APC governorship aspirant were correct, before allowing him to contest the election.
The CACOL boss wondered why Mrs Mary Peter-Odili, wife of the former governor of Rivers state was made the head of the 5-man justices that delivered the judgment.
His words: “Mrs Peter Odili is alleged to be sympathetic the PDP and should have been allowed to head the team, though the team of justices delivered a sound judgment, without minding whose ox is gored”.
On his part, Comrade Bakare Kenny, chairman, Lagos state chapter of Civil Liberties Organization, CLO said the political issue in Bayelsa state is a critical one, where politicians in Nigeria play politics like games,
He stated that once the supreme court delivered judgment in favour of the PDP governorship aspirant, the law must be followed and the man sworn in, in order to avoid anarchy.
