Court Disqualifies APC Governorship Candidate In Bayelsa

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

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

Naijaparry recalls that 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.

According to the judge, 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 latest 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.”