Few hours after Supreme Court ruling on Thursday, February 13, urging the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to withdraw the certificate of return issued Chief David Lyon, APC, as the winner of Bayelsa November 16 governorship poll, fresh facts have emerged that the refusal of the deputy governor elect, Senator Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo to see Prophet TB Joshua, the Senior Prophet, Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, as requested by the cleric, led to the downfall of Lyon.
Statement from Lyon’s associate who prefers to be anonymous stated that “ I am one of the entourage that followed David Lyon from Bayelsa when he visited The SCOAN three times.
I was there when Prophet TB Joshua insisted to David Lyon that he wanted to see the Deputy-Governorship candidate Senator Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo – because he was seeing an obstacle. However, he said he would not come to The SCOAN because he is a Secretary General to Olumba Olumba.
After Degi-Eremienyo refused to come – despite several invitations from TB Joshua – the man of God publicly declared that it was too early for Lyon to share his testimony and that the situation still required serious prayers. I believe David Lyon tried all efforts to bring him but the man refused.
Even on Tuesday, David Lyon was in The Synagogue when the Supreme Court confirmed him as the rightful candidate. TB Joshua again asked him the whereabouts of his Deputy-Governor elect, stressing that he was still seeing an obstacle. Joshua was invited as a special guest to the inauguration on Friday but he said he would not attend because of that obstacle. David Lyon laughed and told him he would come with Degi-Eremienyo to The SCOAN for testimony after the inauguration… Today, we can all see what has happened.”
The Supreme Court on Thursday nullified the election of Bayelsa State governor-elect, David Lyon and his running mate, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, who were already preparing to be inaugurated into office.
A five-man panel of the apex court led by Justice Mary Peter-Odili ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission 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 apex court ordered INEC to issue fresh certificates to the candidates of the party with the next highest votes and with the required constitutional spread of votes in the results of the election, which are the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidates.
Justice Ejembi Ekwo, who read the lead judgment of the apex, made the orders after disqualifying the APC’s deputy governorship candidate, Degi-Eremienyo, as a candidate in the election.
The court upheld the November 12, 2019 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja which had disqualified Degi-Eremienyo in the election for submitting forged certificates to INEC. The court ruled Degi-Eremienyo’s disqualification had infected the joint ticket with which he and the governorship candidate, Lyon, ran for and won the November 16, 2019 election.
Meanwhile, Senator Douye Diri, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Bayelsa November governorship election, had stated that he won the election.
He said this at a press briefing in Yenagoa.
Among those present at the media event were Diri’s running mate, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo; PDP’s Vice Chairman, South-South Zone, Emmanuel Ogidi; member of the state House of Assembly, Munalayefa Gibson, representing Ogbia 2; chairman of Ogbia Local Government Council and the governorship candidates of some political parties that participated in the election, among others. Diri said he was no longer the PDP candidate but the winner of the poll.
He said that he should be “addressed properly” as the winner of the governorship poll. The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, David Lyon, as the winner of the election.
INEC’s state Returning Officer, Prof. Faraday Orumwense, who announced the final result of the poll, said Lyon polled 352, 552 votes while Diri got 143, 172 votes.
Lyon won in six local government areas of Brass, Nembe, Ogbia, Yenagoa, Ekeremor and Southern Ijaw while Diri won in Sagbama and Kolokuma/Opokuma LGAs.
But the PDP candidate said that the figures declared by the commission did not reflect what transpired at the polling units and urged the INEC to declare him as the governor-elect.
Diri said the Situation Room of his campaign organisation monitored the voting in all the local government areas and wards of the state.
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