Fresh Bayelsa gov poll: INEC rejects APC’s request, party heads for Supreme Court

The Independent National Electoral Commission on Sunday governed out any fresh governorship election in Bayelsa State as requested by the All Progressives Congress.

INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, dismissed the APC’s claim for a fresh governorship poll in Bayelsa State.

He said the commission on Friday concluded its work on the Bayelsa State governorship poll.

Also, top officials of INECon Sunday, said the commission had never approved such a request and that of the APC would not be the first.

One of the officials said, “The APC is asking for what is not possible. The party should forget a fresh governorship election in Bayelsa State.”

In a letter dated February 14, 2020 and addressed to the INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu by Adams Oshiomhole called for a fresh election in Bayelsa State.

The APC national chairman said the swearing-in of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Douye Diri, as the state governor was unauthorised as he did not meet the required constitutional requirements.

The party said although the Supreme Court cancelled its candidate, David Lyon’s victory, it stated that Diri also failed to meet the mandatory requirements to become governor.

It said the court judgment did not cancelled the votes of the APC in the November 16, 2019 governorship poll in Bayelsa State.  It, therefore, said its votes must be reckoned with.

The APC had said, ‘‘We are aware that Section 179(1)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria mandatory requires a candidate for an election to the office of governor of a state to have not less than one quarter of the votes cast at the election in each of at least two thirds of all the local government areas in the state before the candidate can be deemed to have been duly elected as the governor of the state. This mandatory requirement was affirmed by the Supreme Court in the judgment under reference.”

According to the party, Bayelsa State has eight local government areas, hence the two thirds of at least eight local government areas will be approximately six local government areas.

The Supreme Court had on Thursday nullified the candidacy of Lyon and his running mate, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, on the grounds that Degi-Eremienyo presented false information about his educational qualifications in his Form CF001 submitted to INEC as a candidate for the 2019 election.