Bayelsa governorship: Tribunal dismisses petition against Lyon

Bayelsa governorship: Tribunal dismisses petition against Lyon

- One of the petitions filed against the electoral success of Lyon as Bayelsa governor has been struck out by the tribunal

- The petitioner Eneyi Zidougha of the Green Party had earlier applied to withdraw the petition

- The tribunal dismissed the petition and awarded N50,000 each to Lyon and other respondents in the petition

The Bayelsa-governor-elect, David Lyon, has recorded his first major victory at the tribunal as one of the petitions filed against his victory has been dismissed.

The dismissed petition was that of the governorship candidate of a minority party, the Green Party, Eneyi Zidougha.

The petitioner had earlier resolved not to continue the electoral challenge as he had applied for the withdrawal of the petition.

Acknowledging the reception of the opposition candidate's application, the tribunal went ahead to dismiss the petition.

The petition who was absent at the proceedings was also asked to pay N50,000 each to Lyon and other respondents in the petition.

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Lyon and the other respondents had earlier argued that Zidougha's petition lacked merit and should be dismissed.

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the case of Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, challenging the candidacy of Lyon, the Bayelsa state governor-elect, was struck out by the court.

Lyon has now been affirmed as ”the authentic candidate of the APC”.

Justice Isaiah Olefemi who read the judgement said Lokpobiri field out of time as he failed to comply with the statutory 14 days period.

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Meanwhile, APC's deputy spokesperson, Yekini Nabena, hailed the Court of Appeal ruling which struck out the case of Senator Lokpobiri challenging the candidacy of Lyon.

Nabena who spoke to journalists in Abuja on Saturday, January 11 shortly after the ruling called on Bayelsans to rally around and support the incoming administration of Chief Lyon.

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The APC and its candidate, Lyon, set a new record in November 2019 when they ousted the PDP from Bayelsa state.

Since 1999, the oil-rich state has been under the control of the PDP until the last governorship poll.

Unresolved internal party crisis was one of the factors responsible for the party's defeat, according to political pundits.

The outgoing governor, Seriake Dickson, is expected to handover to Lyon in February.

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Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Nurudeen Lawal avatar

Nurudeen Lawal (Head of Politics and Current Affairs Desk) Nurudeen Lawal is an AFP-certified journalist with a wealth of experience spanning over 8 years. He received his B/Arts degree in Literature-in-English from OAU. Lawal is the Head of the Politics/CA Desk at Legit.ng, where he applies his expertise to provide incisive coverage of events. He was named the Political Desk Head of the Year (Nigeria Media Nite-Out Award 2023). He is also a certified fact-checker (Dubawa fellowship, 2020). Contact him at lawal.nurudeen@corp.legit.ng or +2347057737768.