Nigeria

Bayelsa election: APC rejects court ruling on its candidate, goes to appeal court

Thursday, November 14, 2019 at 10:10 PM by Wale Akinola

- APC has rejected the court ruling on its governorship candidate for Saturday, November 16, David Lyon

- A Federal High Court sitting in Bayelsa, had on Thursday, November 14, declared that APC has no candidate for the election

- But the party said the judge escaped with ruling to hamper its appeal

Following the judgement given on Thursday, November 14, by the Federal High Court sitting in Bayelsa, to disqualify the governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, David Lyon, from participating in the Saturday, November 16, the party has rejected the verdict and headed to appeal court.

The Nation reports that the APC said at a press briefing on Thursday, November 14, that it would appeal the judgement, adding that its lawyers were already working on the processes to first secure a stay of execution.

Legit.ng gathered that the party accused the judge of the court, Justice Jane Inyang, of escaping with the judgement she delivered which nullified the party’s primary election that produced Lyon as the candidate of the party for the election.

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The vice-chairman, media, APC campaign council, Julius Bokoru, said Inyang, immediately after delivering the verdict, ran away with the copy of the judgement to frustrate the APC from heading for the appeal court.

Bokoru said the judge was at large and was working in cahoots with the state government to stop the APC from fielding a candidate at the poll.

He said: “The information at our disposal is that Justice Inyang has escaped with the judgement she delivered today against the APC. She is at large and unreachable. But we learnt that she ran into the Government House after giving her verdict.

"The plan is to frustrate the APC from appealing the judgement which we know will not stand the test of time. She is working with the PDP and the state government to ensure that we do not participate in the election to allow the PDP go into the poll without contest.

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"We are asking Inyang to come out of her hiding place and give us access to the judgement. And we are calling on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to look into the conduct of Inyang and the circumstances behind her actions.”

Bokoru said Inyang knew that she went into a voyage of discovery and assumed the role of father Christmas by granting a relief not sought by the plaintiff and former minister of state for petroleum, Senator Heineken Lokopbiri.

He wondered why the judge abandoned Lokpobiri’s relief that he should be declared the winner of the primary election to make pronouncement on the validity of the primary.

“She has done what she sets out to do against the APC but what we don’t understand is why she has hidden the judgement from us. This is not justice and this is not democracy.

“Inyang should know that her conduct is provoking millions of Bayelsans who are yearning for change and should be held responsible whatever her conduct should cause in the state. We are assuring our supporters that no matter how they try we will succeed and win this election on Saturday,” he said.