Barely 24 hours to his inauguration, the Supreme Court has nullified the victory of Bayelsa State governor-elect, David Lyon and his running mate, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo.
A five-man panel of the apex court led by Justice Mary Peter-Odili ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to the All Progressives Congress’ candidates as the winners of the November 16, 2019 governorship election in the state.
The court upheld the November 12, 2019 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja which had disqualified the APC’s deputy governorship candidate, Degi-Eremienyo, as a candidate in the election for submitting forged certificates to INEC.
Justice Ejembi Ekwo, who read the lead judgment of the apex, said Degi-Eremienyo’s disqualification had infected the joint ticket with which he and the governorship candidate, Lyon, ran for and won the election.
The court also ordered INEC to issue fresh certificates to the candidates of the party with the next highest votes, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
