There Is No Confusion In Bayelsa: APC Has No Governorship Candidate. There Is No Order Of Stay Against The 14/11/2019 Ruling Of FHC Yenagoa Nullifying APC’s Governorship Primaries

THERE IS NO CONFUSION IN BAYELSA STATE: APC HAS NO GOVERNORSHIP CANDIDATE. THERE IS NO ORDER OF STAY AGAINST THE 14/11/2019 RULING OF FHC YENAGOA NULLIFYING APC’s Governorship Primaries

(Plus OPTIONS BEFORE APC, INEC & NATIONAL ASSEMBLY) (By Levi Oraekenyi)

PART A:
THE TRUTH & UNTRUTH
(The real state of affairs as at 1.00pm on 15/11/2019)

There is no order of any FEDERAL HIGH COURT setting aside the 14/11/2019 of FHC Yenagoa nullifying the September 04, 2019 governorship primaries of the APC. An FHC in Abuja could not have stayed the ruling of a coordinate Federal High Court. That did not happen. It’s mere gossip. As far as the Bayelsa elections are concerned, there are only three court rulings as at 15/11/2019. They’re:
(1) The ruling of the FEDERAL HIGH COURT, ABUJA on 12/11/2018 disqualifying the DEPUTY GOVERNORSHIP CANDIDATE (Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo) for lying in his affidavit he submitted to INEC. According FHC Abuja. According to the FHC, Abuja, Degi-Eremienyo had given false information in relation to his educational qualifications and later went ahead to depose to an affidavit to correct the discrepancies. The FHC said specifically, “There are discrepancies in the form CF 001, the Deputy Governorship candidate submitted to INEC for clearance in the 2019 Bayelsa State Governorship poll…. the INEC’s Form CF001 is a document validated by oath, and the consequence of lying on oath is grave. Where a candidate is found to have lied on oath, a court must issue an order disqualifying such a candidate from contesting the election” (see https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.channelstv.com/2019/11/12/court-disqualifies-bayelsa-apc-deputy-governorship-candidate/amp/%3ffbclid=IwAR20qyZSXXpKTH4Ex0cvYf_7z_iQTiB1G7o0JjP44L3CDw-y2O97EIU8ck4)

(2) The ruling of the Federal High Court (FHC), Yenagoa on 14/11/2019 nullifying the September 04, 2019 governorship primaries held by the APC for being illegal due to noncompliance with laid down rules. (See https://www.google.com/amp/s/thenationonlineng.net/breaking-apc-has-no-candidate-in-bayelsa-court/amp/). The ruling had followed a suit filed by MR Heineken Lokpobiri, an APC Governorship aspirant in the primaries.

(3) The 14/11/2019 ruling of the Court of Appeal, Abuja halting/staying execution of the 12/11/2019 ruling of the FHC, Abuja which had disqualified the APC Deputy Governorship Candidate. (See https://www.google.com/amp/s/thenigerialawyer.com/confusion-as-three-courts-give-conflicting-orders-on-apc-candidates-in-bayelsa-poll/amp/)

As at this moment, that’s 1.00pm of 15/11/2019, there has NOT been any ruling/order HALTING or STAYING the EXECUTION of the 14/11/2019 ruling of the FHC Yenagoa, so the September 04, 2019 primaries stand nullified, based on the 14/11/2019 ruling of FHC, Yenagoa.

Accordingly, unless the APC procures another order to either set aside the 14/11/2019 ruling of FHC Yenagoa or go on appeal today (15//11/2019) and get the 14/11/2019 judgment of FHC Yenagoa halted/stayed, pending thehearing of its appeal, the judgement of FHC Yenagoa stands SUBSISTING until set aside on APPEAL. The legal implication of this is that APC, as far as the law is concerned, has no candidate in the 16/11/2019 elections. The FHC Yenagoa may be right or may be wrong in its 14/11/2019 ruling. But as decided in MILITARY GOVERNOR OF LAGOS STATE V. ODUMEGWU-OJUKWU, an order of court, once made remains subsisting and BINDING ON ALL PARTIES unless it is set aside or otherwise stayed. That Supreme Court declaration applies here.

Those people who are saying that the Court of Appeal has cleared the APC Governorship candidate for participation in the 16/11/2019 elections are merely, deliberately and mischievously misinterpreting the law to suit their selfish ends. They’re merely playing politics. They know the true position which is that

(1) The governorship primaries stand nullified and therefore nonexistent, unless and until an appellate court rules otherwise; and
(2) the court of appeal ruling on 14/11/2019 relates to only the 12/11/2019 ruling of FHC Abuja (regarding qualification of the deputy governor) and not the 14/11/2019 ruling of FHC Yenagoa nullifying the September 04, 2019 governorship primaries of the APC. They know.

Please, recall that the 12/11/2019 ruling of the FHC Abuja concerns ONLY THE QUESTION AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THE APC DEPUTY GOVERNORSHIP CANDIDATE WAS QUALIFIED. It has nothing to do with the September 04, 2019 APC primaries or any irregularities alleged to have occurred therein.

This is because
(a) the DEPUTY GOVERNORSHIP CANDIDATE did not participate in the primaries. And so his case DOES NOT and could not have had any business with the party primaries in
in which he DID NOT TAKE PART. That being the case, if (as) the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has STAYED execution of the 12/11/2019 ruling of FHC Abuja, it is the ruling disqualifying the deputy governorship candidate that was stayed, and not the 14/11/2019 ruling of FHC YENAGOA nullifying the September 04, 2019 governorship primaries. (b) There is NO way the Court of Appeal could have stayed the 14/11/2019 ruling of the FHC Yenagoa which came almost the same hour as the ruling of the Court of Appeal Abuja. Besides, the 14/11/2019 ruling nullifying the parties governorship primaries was not before the Court of Appeal, Abuja as at the time the court of appeal Abuja delivered a ruling staying (halting the execution of) the 12/11/2019 ruling of FHC Abuja.
(c). It is the court of Appeal sitting in PortHarcourt, Rivers State (not that in Abuja) that has administrative jurisdiction to hear appeals from FHC Yenagoa.
Below is the ruling of the Court of Appeal on 14/11/2019, while staying the 12/11/2019 ruling regarding qualification of the deputy Governor: the APC Deputy Governorship candidate was represented in by Damian Dodo SAN. The Appeal Court specifically granted and made the following orders:
“(1). That the status quo ante bellum which existed on or before the 19th September, 2019 when the suit was filed be maintained pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.
(2) An interim order for stay of judgment of the lower court delivered on 12th November, 2019 pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.
(3). The Motion on Notice to be heard on 20th November, 2019 and the Respondents to be served with the Motion on Notice and and copy of the Court Order.” (See https://www.google.com/amp/s/thenigerialawyer.com/confusion-as-three-courts-give-conflicting-orders-on-apc-candidates-in-bayelsa-poll/amp/)
The Court of Appeal is unequivocal and so leaves no one confused about the judgement to which its (the court of appeal) ruling of 14/11/2019 relates. I refer us to the exact words used by the court of appeal as shown above: “An interim order for stay of judgment of the lower court delivered on 12th November, 2019”

Consequently, DAVID LYON is NO LONGER APC’s Governorship Candidate in the governorship elections slated for 16/11/2019 in Bayelsa State, unless another order (of a higher court) comes before the start of voting on 16/11/2019 to suspend or lift the 14/11/2019 ruling of FHC Yenagoa nullifying the September 04, 2019 governorship primaries which had produced DAVID LYON as at the party’s flag bearer.

PART B:
THE OPTIONS BEFORE THE APC & ITS GOVERNORSHIP CANDIDATE

(1) The APC could appeal against the 14/11/2019 ruling of the FHC Yenagoa. If APC goes on appeal and succeeds, that is, if the courts on appeal hold that the September 04, 2019 governorship primaries WAS VALIDLY HELD and that DAVID LYON or Heineken Lokpobiri is the party’s candidate, the legal implication would be that APC was unlawfully excluded from the 16/11/2019 governorship elections. So, if the court of appeal and or the Supreme Court upholds the September 04, 2019 governorship primaries, the appellate court should also nullify the results of the 16/11/2019 elections and order a rerun to afford the APC an opportunity of participating. That is the law in my view. Because, if the appellate courts uphold the governorship primaries, it would then be that the APC had VALIDLY NOMINATED A CANDIDATE who was then unlawfully EXCLUDED BY A COURT. So only a rerun would cure the error.

(2) If on the other hand , the appellate courts affirm the judgment of the FHC Yenagoa, it means that APC’s fate is sealed, at is was in Rivers and in Zamfara states in 2019. Under such situation, even if the APC participates and wins the elections, its victory would be set aside because or on grounds that it has no candidate in the elections.

(3). If the APC fails to go on appeal against the 14/11/2019 ruling, it means that APC has accepted that it has no candidate and that the September 04, 2019 governorship primaries stand NULLIFIED. If that be the case, all votes cast for the PURPORTED APC governorship candidate would, as it happened in Zamfara State, become a mere waste and as such not to be considered in determining the winner of the 16/11/2019 governorship elections in Bayelsa State. I advise the APC to rush to the court of appeal today and seek an order to stay the 14/11/2019 FHC Yenagoa ruling, which is, as at 1.00pm on 15/11/2019 still VALID & SUBSISTING.

PART C:
MY ADVICE TO INEC

INEC’s reaction to the 14/11/2019 ruling of of the FHC Yenagoa is contained in a statement by the publicity secretary of INEC in Bayelsa. In a news item titled, “Bayelsa Governorship: INEC reacts to court judgement disqualifying APC,” Premiumtimesng reports that INEC, in its reaction, INEC said that the election would go on despite the disqualification of the APC candidate. INEC’s publicity secretary in Bayelsa State, Sarian Dangosu is reported to have stated as follows:
“The court did not say INEC should stop the election. The court only said those who do not have candidates will be disallowed therefore, the other 43 candidates will go to the polls.” (See https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/362864-bayelsa-governorship-inec-reacts-to-court-judgement-disqualifying-apc.html). This notwithstanding, my advice is that INEC should postpone the election to enable the courts to resolve all pending issues, because going ahead with the elections might amount a gross waste of public funds. Look at this: APC as at today HAS NO CANDIDATE. So, if INEC goes ahead with the elections and thereafter the appellate courts decide that APC’s candidate (LYON OR LOKPOBIRI) was improperly EXCLUDED, and the appellate courts decide to NULLIFY the 16/11/2019 governorship elections in Bayelsa State and order a rerun to enable the APC (a party that was unjustly excluded; that is if APC wins on appeal) to participate in the elections.

PART D:
ADVICE TO THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.

Please amend our electoral laws to provide for all PRE-ELECTION SUITS to be concluded at least 20 days before any general elections to which the such suits relate. A situation in which court orders are flying around few days to a general election does not augur well for the polity and has the capacity of instigating or encouraging VIOLENCE AND THE ATTENDANT LOSS OF INNOCENT LIVES. If all Pre-election matters are concluded on time, INEC would be able to make necessary adjustments to reflect the relevant, subsisting court orders before the holding of the general elections.

Part E:
CONCLUSION:
We’re legal advisers and rule of law advocates. We have offered our legal opinion. Let those who have ears hear.

Best wishes Bayelsa.
Thank you.
SIGNED:
LEVI ORAEKENYI.
Legal Practitioner, Lagos.
(ejikelevi933@gmail.com)