Breaking: Bayelsa Governorship: APC May Field No Candidate

By Gideon Njoku

Here is the News of the Year!  If the Electoral Laws are followed, and not brazenly broken, the All Progressive Congress, APC, is not qualified to field a candidate in the Bayelsa Governorship Election scheduled for November 16. The party’s Deputy Governorship candidate, Senator Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, has been given a red card by an Abuja Federal High Court.

The Hon. Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a judgement, Tuesday, threw a spanner in the preparation of the party for the election. He ruled that Governorship candidate David Lyon’s running mate is not fit to stand for election. He disqualified him for parading different names in the various certificates he presented to INEC.

The names on the different certificates, His Lordship noted, don’t add up, and have no bearing to the Deputy Governorship candidate.

Meaning: Senator Degi-Eremienyo gave false information in the CF0001 Form he submitted to INEC.

From the First School Leaving Certificate, first degree, and Master’s degree, Justice Ekwo saw no connection. They bore different names.

Documents obtained from the Federal High Court, Abuja, reveal the many names and identities of the Deputy Governorship Candidate.

They are five, and are as follows:

*1976 FSLC : Degi Biobaragha

* 1984 WAEC SC/GCE : Adegi Biobakumo.

* 1990 , Rivers State University of Technology,  (RSUST) First Degree: Degi Biobarakuma.

*2002 RSUST, MBA : Degi Biobarakuma Wangagha.

*2019 INEC Form CF001: Degi-Eremienyo Biobarakuma.

In 2018, he swore to two different affidavits before two unidentified Notaries Public, trying to correct his names.  The issuing institutions made mistakes, he said.

But the Judge  held that the right way of correcting names mis-spelt,  or with errors,  is to write to the  issuing institutions to correct same, and not by affidavit deposed to before a Notary Public which did not issue the certificates.

The Electoral law says that the fate of the Governorship candidate and his running mate are tied together in the race. A governorship candidate cannot run without a running mate. In this case, it probably would have been easy for Lyon to pick another running mate, but the window for such substitution is closed. The election is less than a week away, and no such substitution can be made.

Already, the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Seconds, has called on the INEC to stick to the laws, warning against its bending in any way.

According to him, Justice Ekwo’s ruling simply means that the APC has no candidate in the November 16 Governorship election.

The suit that threw out Degi-Eremienyo was filed by the PDP against the APC governorship candidate, David Lyon, Degi- Erenienyo and INEC. The PDP sought for the disqualification of Degi-Eremienyo. It has succeeded.