Bayelsa Judgment Review: Supreme Court to Hear APC’s Request Wednesday
POLITICS DIGEST – The Supreme Court has fixed Wednesday for the hearing of the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s application for a review of its judgment which overturned its victory in the last governorship election in Bayelsa State.
The disputed apex court judgment was delivered barely 24 hours to the inauguration of the party’s governorship candidate, David Lyon, and his running mate, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, scheduled to hold on February 14.
The five-man panel of the court led by Justice Mary Peter-Odili disqualified Degi-Eremienyo’s candidacy and ruled that the disqualification had rendered the joint ticket held by him and the governorship candidate a nullity.
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But the APC, through its lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), supported by Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), had on February 20, filed an application before the Supreme Court contending that the apex court gave a wrong interpretation to the judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which was affirmed in the February 13, 2020 apex court’s verdict.
Olanipekun contended that the November 12, 2019 verdict of the Federal High Court affirmed by the apex court did not nullify the party’s ticket.
He argued that the apex court denied his client fair hearing by disqualifying its governorship candidate even when the Federal High Court in Abuja refused to grant such order even though it was sought by the plaintiffs who originated the suit.
The party stated, “In this honourable court’s judgment of February 13, 2020, the court erroneously and inadvertently stated that the trial High Court consequentially disqualified the applicant‘s governorship candidate even though the trial court made no such order and when the trial court indeed refused to grant the express orders sought by the plaintiffs therein for his disqualification.”
The appeal ruled upon by the Supreme Court was filed by the Peoples Democratic Party, its governorship and deputy governorship candidates of the party, Douye Diri, and his running mate, Lawrence Ewhruojakpo.
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