Ade Adesomoju and Daniels Igoni
The Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja, on Monday, nullified the election of Governor Duoye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct a fresh poll within 90 days.
The three-man tribunal, in a split decision of two to one, sacked Diri for the unlawfully exclusion of the Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party and its candidate, King George, from participating in the November 16, 2019, election.
But Diri, in swift reaction, stated that he would appeal the judgment.
Earlier on Monday, two judges on the panel, Justices Yunusa Musa and Sikiru Owoduni, in upholding the petition filed by the ANDP, held that INEC lacked the power to exclude any party from an election.
But the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Ibrahim Sirajo, in his dissenting judgment, dismissed the petition.
Justice Sirajo held that unlawful exclusion could only arise after a party must have been lawfully nominated to participate in the election.
INEC had via a September 21, 2019, judgment rejected the deputy governorship candidate of the party, David Esinkuma, for being 34-year-old, therefore falling short of the 35 years stipulated in the constitution as the minimum age that must be attained to contest the office.
The party was said to have submitted the name of a substitute, who was also underage, and could not make a substitution until time had lapsed.
Delivering the majority judgment of the tribunal on Monday, Justice Musa ruled that INEC lacked the power to disqualify any party from an election for whatever reason.
He held that the first deputy governorship candidate was validly nominated following a valid primary election conducted by the party.
“The exclusion is void ab initio. The deputy governorship candidate stands. It is not a duty of INEC to disqualify him. It is the duty of the court. INEC cannot screen a candidate, its duty is to supervise.”
On the contention that the petitioner’s case was statute-barred having not been filed within 14 days of being notified by INEC that it would not participate in the election, Justice Musa held that the cause of action only arose after February 14, 2020, when the Supreme Court delivered the judgment that ushered in Diri as governor.
Meanwhile, in a separate judgment on Monday, the tribunal unanimously dismissed the petition filed by the Accord Party and its governorship candidate, Ebizimor Diriyai, who had sought the nullification of the poll on the basis that Diri’s deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, altered his certificate.
The Accord Party’s petition, in addition to the three earlier dismissed on Saturday, made the fourth that were dismissed against Diri’s election.
With God on my side, I’ll get justice –Gov
But Diri, said he had instructed his lawyers to file the necessary papers for the appeal.
Diri, in a statement, titled, ‘I have instructed my lawyers to appeal tribunal ruling,’ issued by his acting Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Alabrah, said he had implicit confidence in the judiciary that he would triumph in the end.
He said, “We trust in the judiciary and we are appealing the judgement. With God on our side, we will get justice.
“This is a court of first instance and I have instructed our lawyers to file an appeal. We have a right of appeal even up to the Supreme Court.”
No vacancy in Bayelsa Govt House –Dickson
The immediate past governor of the state, Seriake Dickson, said there was no vacancy in the Government House despite the judgment.
Dickson, in a statement titled: ‘Bayelsa election tribunal ruling: Ex-governor Dickson urges calm’, by his media adviser, Mr Fidelis Soriwei, said Diri remained the governor until a final decision on the issue was reached at the Supreme Court.
He described the ruling as “a temporary setback, which does not in law affect the status quo until appeal processes are exhausted.”
The former governor advised the people of Bayelsa not be perturbed by the tribunal’s verdict, stressing that the Peoples Democratic Party and the government would appeal the judgment.
APC celebrates; party chairman says judgment good development
But supporters of the All Progressive Congress in the state, on Monday, jubilated over the judgment. They started their celebration along the popular Mbiama-Yenagoa Road in Yenagoa dancing and singing, and ended it at the APC secretariat at Kpansia in the state capital.
The state APC Chairman, Jothan Amos, described the judgment as “a welcome development,” adding that the people of Bayelsa were gearing up for another governorship election.
Meanwhile, the state PDP Chairman, Solomon Agwana, said he could only comment on the ruling when the minority judgment of the tribunal had been delivered.
Diri asks Assembly to screen cabinet nominees
In a related development, members of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, on Monday, paid a solidarity visit to the governor.
Diri urged the lawmakers to go ahead with the screening of his commissioner-nominees, saying he would swear them in after the exercise.
The lawmakers, according to a statement by the governor’s acting Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Alabrah, were led by the Speaker, Abraham Ingobere.
Ingobere said the House suspended its plenary when it received the news of the judgment.
Diri described the visit as a morale booster that would inspire him to forge ahead with governance undeterred. Punch