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By Alex Enumah
The Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed the nomination of Mr David Lyon as candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the last governorship election in Bayelsa State.
The apex court in a unanimous decison dismissed the appeal filed by an aspirant of the APC, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, challenging the nomination of Lyon as the APC flag bearer in the November 16 governorship poll.
The court in the lead judgment delivered by Justice John Okoro, held that Senator Lokpobiri failed to file his suit within the mandatory 14 days stipulated in the Constitution.
Justice Okoro stated that the provisions of section 285(9) of the 1999 Constitution was categorical and emphatic that all political cases must be instituted within a 14-day time frame.
The apex court disagreed with the appellant that the cause of action arose from September 7, 2019 when Lyon’s name was submitted by the APC to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the party’s flag bearer, adding that the cause of action actually arose from September 4, 2019 when the result of the primary election was declared by the party.
Lokpobiri had prayed the apex court to void the decisions of both the trial court and the appellate court in Port Harcourt which earlier held that his case was statute barred and no longer has life at the time it was instituted.
The former Minister of State for Agriculture, averred that the two lower courts erred in law when they held that he ought to have filed his grievances from the date the result of the primary election was announced and not from the date his opponent’s name was submitted to the electoral body.
Details later…
