Joseph Bakare
National chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Adams Oshiomhole, has dared Supreme Court judgement which sacked governor elect in Bayelsa David Lyon.
Oshiomhole, boosted that senator Douye Diri, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, could not be sworn today, Friday as Bayelsa Governor because he did not meet the requirements of the Supreme Court.
Oshiomhole pointed out the judgement of the Supreme Court said the certificate of return should be issued to the candidate, who has the required spread in the election aside from David Lyon.
According to him, no candidate in the election met the requirement apart from Lyon. The implication is that from Friday Bayelsa will be without a Governor, he said.
It was also gathered that the Bayelsa Chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, has expressed shock over the Supreme Court ruling nullifying the election of Lyon as the governor-elect.
The Supreme Court had ruled that Lyon’s deputy, Ereminyor. submitted forged documents that disqualified the joint ticket and nomination and urged INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to them and reissue the same to the next party with the requisite constitutional spread.
Doifie Buokoribo, the state APC Publicity Secretary, said in Yenogoa that the party was shocked at the development.
“It is a shocking one but one thing that is clear is that the Dickson 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.
Before news of the judgement filtered into town, APC faithful were in high spirits preparing for the governor-elect inauguration on Friday.
The governor-elect had earlier visited the proposed venue for his inauguration at Sampson Siasia Stadium, where he rehearsed for the ceremony.
Reacting, Daniel Alabarah, special adviser to Governor Seriake Dickson said that the Supreme Court ruling in favour of PDP was “the will of God”.
“The PDP victory is not by our own power, it is the will of God. Many have defected to APC since the election but today, victory is for us.
“I believe the victory is for Bayelsa and not only for PDP. We want all parties to come together and we can move the state forward,” he said.