.
By Emem Idio, Yenagoa
THE Bayelsa State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has stated that the Friday judgement of a state high court nullifying its ward, local government and state congresses of the party will not affect the participation of candidates of the party in next month’s general elections.
The party made the clarification in a statement made available to newsmen in Yenagoa and signed by the party’s Director of Administration, Mr Emmanuel Ayakpo.
A Bayelsa State High Court sitting in Yenagoa and presided over by Justice Timipre Cocodia, had on Friday sacked the state executives of the APC, with the nullification of the Ward, Local Government and State Congresses held between the 3rd and 4th of September, 2021 and 16th October,2021.
Delivering his judgement, Justice Cocodia upheld the eight prayers of the plaintiff bothering on exclusion, anomalies and disobedience to Court orders over the conduct of the Ward, Local Government and State congresses.
Ayakpo said while the party is already heading to the appeal court to appeal the judgement, noted that it has also filed for stay of execution.
He said: “The attention of the Bayelsa state chapter of the All Progressives Congress has been drawn to deliberate falsehood circulated by agents of glittering opposition political element to the effect that the judgement delivered by Hon Justice I.T Cocodia in Suit NO YHC/16/2022 between Mr Alex Izibenikibo Blackson vs All Progressives Congress and others on the 20th of January, 2023 has nullified the party primaries of the APC in Bayelsa state thereby sacking all its candidates for the House of Assembly, House of Representatives and Senate from contesting the forthcoming general elections.
“Ordinarily as a party focused on reclaiming our mandate to deliver the right dividend of democracy to the impoverished people of Bayelsa state, we were not minded to react to this patently false and malicious publication.
“However the intention of this falsehood circulated by enemies of the truth is misleading unassuming and deceptive. We are therefore compelled as a responsible political party with the obligation of always feeding the public with the truth to put the records straight.
“Let it be established straight away that the judgement delivered by Hon Justice I.T Cocodia of the High Court of Bayelsa state, has nothing to do with the candidates of the APC in Bayelsa state as all our candidates for House of Assembly, House of Representatives and Senate are legible and qualified to contest and win the forthcoming general elections.
“The instant suit is that of the skin of Esau and the voice Jacob as members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party that have laboured under the illusion that getting an architect job done in this will disqualify the candidates of the APC from contesting the forthcoming general elections have boasted and made it clear to the APC family that they will ditch out the Zamfara and Rivers state experience to members of the APC in Bayelsa state.
“Curiously Hon. Justice I.T Cocodia has filial ties with the State Adviser to the Governor of Bayelsa state, High Chief Collins Cocodia thereby breeding a fertile for the judgement to be settled as a family business.
“In the course of the proceedings Hon. I.T. Cocodia practically descended to the arena of the conflict by refusing to hear all the various applications filed by the counsel to the Defendants, the ridiculous dimension to this quagmire is that the Defendants filed for an application for Hon Justice I.T Cocodia to recuse himself from hearing Suit NO YHC/16/2022 between Mr Alex Izibenikibo Blackson and APC and others but he dismissed the applications without hearing from the parties and held unto the records from previous proceedings without releasing same to the registrar to frustrate appeals.
“Interestingly, as Hon Justice I.T Cocodia during the course of the hearing of the matter, demonstrated obvious and uncommon zeal to deliver judgement against the APC, the counsel to the APC also prepared their Notices of Appeal with a motion for stay of execution of judgement and have filed same.
“The legal effect of the foregoing is that Dr Dennis Otiotio PhD led state executive committee is still in power and shall remain in office until the matter is decided by the Court of Appeal.
“We, therefore, urge our party members, teeming supporters and our esteemed candidates not to be distracted by the antics of politically glittering and legally naïve opposition political element but to go about their lawful business and campaigns to bring the assured victory to our great party.”
The post Our candidates not affected by court judgement nullifying congresses —Bayelsa APC appeared first on Vanguard News.
