The Supreme Court will later today (Wednesday) deliver its judgment on the applications for a review of its February 13, 2020 judgment which overturned the All Progressives Congress’ victory in the last governorship election in Bayelsa State.
A seven-man panel of the apex court led by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta disclosed this shortly after hearing two applications for review of the poll filed by the All Progressives Congress and its governorship candidate at the poll and former governor-elect, David Lyon.
Lyon was represented by Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), while the APC was represented by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN).
Opposing the applications were the Peoples Democratic Party, which was the beneficiary of the February 13 verdict, and its candidates who were later declared the winner of the poll in the said verdict.
While the PDP was represented by Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), Governor Duoye Diri by Yunus Usman (SAN), and the deputy governor, Lawrence Ewhruojakpo, by Chris Uche (SAN).
The disputed apex court’s 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.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Ejembi Eko disqualified Degi-Eremienyo’s candidacy for presenting false information about his educational qualifications in his Form CF001 submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission as a candidate for the 2019 election.
The former deputy governor-elect was said to have presented certificates with different names and inconsistent with the name on the Form CF.001 submitted to INEC.
Members of the Supreme Court panel who heard the review applications were Justices Sylvester Ngwuta, Mary Peter-Odili, Olukayode Ariwoola, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Inyang Okoro, Amina Augie, and Ejembi Eko..
