Court Clears Last Hurdle For APC To Contest Bayelsa Governorship

The Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa Tuesday dismissed a case filed by Hon Isikima Ogbomade Johnson seeking to disallow the All Progressives Congress (APC  governorship ticket from contesting the November 11 election in Bayelsa State.

The presiding judge, Honorable Justice B. O. Quadri, ruled that the case was statute barred. In effect, the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain it.

Johnson, an APC member, who contested and lost the APC governorship primary in the state in April, had filed the suit in which she alleged improper conduct of the primary election, and claimed that APC’s Deputy Governorship candidate, Maciver, was not qualified to be on the ballot. Johnson alleged that Maciver had been convicted by a court before, and that he lied on oath in his nomination forms with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) regarding his conviction status.

But ruling in the case, with suit no: FHC/YNG/CS/114/2023, Justice Quadri held that the suit against Maciver was statute barred, having been filed outside the statutory 14 days on the occurrence of the matter for which Johnson was suing. 

The ruling effectively clears the last hurdle before the APC ahead of the November 11 governorship election.

Bayelsa State APC Publicity Secretary, Mr. Doifie Buokoribo, said, in a statement, “The case brought against our Deputy Governorship candidate by surrogates of those who have no confidence in the free choice of Bayelsa people through the ballot box and think they can distract the people’s choice has yet again failed. Like the previous attempts, this one, too, has failed to stop us.

“We thank Bayelsa people for their confidence in APC expressed by their overwhelming support throughout the period of the case,” the party said following the court declaration on the governorship.

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