Orders issuance of COR to Diri
By Ovie Okpare
The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday sacked Bayelsa state Governor-Elect, David Lyon over forgery by his Deputy, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremieoyo.
In a unanimous decision by a five-man panel led by Justice Mary Odili, the SC held that Degi-Eremieoyo presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
According to the apex court held that the Form CF 001 Degi-Eremieoyo submitted to INEC for the November 16, 2019, Bayelsa governorship election contained false information of fundamental nature.
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Justice Ejembi Eko who delivered the lead judgement reinstated the November 12, 2019 judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja that disqualified Degi-Eremieoyo from participating in the governorship poll.
The court held that since Degi-Eremieoyo shared a joint ticket with the governor-elect, his disqualification invalidated their nomination by the All Progressive Congress, APC.
Consequently, the SC ordered INEC to immediately withdraw the Certificate of Return issued them and issue a fresh one to the party that secured the second highest number of votes and got the required constitutional spread
The judgement followed an appeal that was filed by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, its governorship and deputy governorship candidates in Bayelsa State, Douye Diri and Lawrence Ewhruojakpo.
