Bayelsa: Supreme Court throws out Lokpobiri’s appeal, affirms Lyon as APC candidate

Bayelsa State governor-elect, David Lyon, Tuesday crossed Supreme Court hurdle and has been declared valid candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 governorship election in the state.

The Appeal filed by Heineken Lokpobiri, who had instituted his case seeking to be declared the valid winner of September 4, 2019, primary election of the All Progressives Congress in Bayelsa state was subsequently thrown out by the apex court.

The Justice Mary Peter-Odili led five-man panel unanimously dismissed the appeal and affirmed the Bayelsa State governor-elect, David Lyon, as the valid candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the last governorship election in the state.

While delivering the lead judgment, Justice Inyang Okoro affirmed the January 11, 2020 judgment of the Port Harcourt Division of the Court of Appeal, which had held that Lokpobiri’s suit challenging Lyon’s victory in the primary election was filed out of time at the Federal High Court, Yenogoa.

In a judgment delivered by the Federal High Court Yenegoa in November 2019, the court had upheld Lokpobiri’s case and nullified Lyon’s nomination as the APC’s candidate for the November 17, 2019 governorship election in the state.

But the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt, on January 11, 2019, upturned the Federal High Court judgment and affirmed Lyon’s nomination.

In a three minute judgment read by Justice John Okoro, the court held that election matters is Sui generis’, saying time is essential in filing matters by any parties so that court must do the needful within the time frame.

“The appellant filed outside the 14 days allowed by the provision of the constitution as provided for in Section 285 sub section 9.

The appeal lacks merit and accordingly dismissed, the apex court held further.

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