Bayelsa APC: Supreme Court upholds Lyon’s victory, dismisses appeal by Senator Lokpobiri
- Supreme Court has upheld the victory of David Lyon as Bayelsa APC governorship candidate
- Lyon contested Bayelsa governorship election on November 16, 2019, under APC and won
- But his nomination was being challenged by another member of APC, Heineken Lokpobiri
The legal tussle between the governor-elect of Bayelsa state, David Lyon, and the former federal lawmaker, Heineken Lokpobiri, over the governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, has been finally put to rest.
Channels TV reports that the Supreme Court on Tuesday, February 11, dismissed the appeal filed by Senator Lokpobiri for lacking in merit.
Legit.ng gathered that in a unanimous judgement delivered by Justice Inyang Okoro, the apex court held that the lower court was right in its decision as Lokpobiri filed his petition outside the 14 days allowed by law.
Source: UGC
A 5-man panel of the court insisted that the cause of action complained about by Senator Lokpobiri occurred on September 4, 2019, and not 7, as claimed in his petition which was clearly filed out of time.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that Lyon recorded his first major victory at the tribunal as one of the petitions filed against his victory was dismissed.
PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app
It was gathered that 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.
Also, Lyon promised that he would probe the outgoing Bayelsa state government led by Governor Seriake Dickson.
It was reported that Lyon stated this while inaugurating a 59-member transition council set up by the state chapter of the APC to scrutinise the accounts of the Dickson administration.
The governor-elect noted that the action was needed for appropriate action when he takes over on February 14.
The deputy national publicity secretary of the APC, Yekini Nabena, hailed the appeal court judgement that reversed an earlier Federal High Court ruling which disqualified the deputy-governorship-elect, Senator Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo from participating in the Bayelsa state governorship election.
Nabela who spoke shortly after the judgement in Abuja thanked the people of Bayelsa state for their dogged and unflinching support for the party and its governorship and deputy governor-elects.
NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We keep evolving to serve our readers better.
Bayelsa election: Party agents argue fiercely over results anomaly | - on Legit TV
Source: Legit.ng
