An All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant for the upcoming Bayelsa State governorship election, Mrs Ogbomade Johnson, has challenged the emergence of Mr Timipre Sylva as the party’s candidate.
Johnson made the prayer in a new suit filed by her lawyers led by Hyginus Ibega before Justice Inyang Ekwo ahead of the election scheduled for November 11, 2023.
She prayed the court for an order of mandatory injunction compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to delist the names of APC and Sylva from among the list of political parties and candidates for the November 11 poll.
Johnson also prayed for a perpetual injunction restraining the immediate-past Minister of State for Petroleum from parading himself as the APC’s governorship candidate in the state.
The aggrieved aspirant sought a declaration that the APC was duty-bound in contract to commence and conclude the primary election in Bayelsa under the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the regulations and guidelines of the political party after it demanded and received the sum of 10 million from her, along and five other aspirants.
Johnson also sought a declaration that by the conduct of the APC’s primary poll on April 14 in contravention of the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022, and the regulations and guidelines of the political party, the APC had no candidate for the election.
Politics Nigeria recalls that the APC had cleared Mrs Johnson, Sylva, Joshua Maciver, Festus Daumiebi, Mrs Maureen Ongoebi and David Lyon as aspirants in the April 14 primary elections.
In the primary election conducted in 102 of the 105 wards of the eight local governments in the state, Sylva was said to have scored 52, 061 votes; Maciver scored 2, 078; Johnson scored 584; Daumiebi scored 557; Ongoebi scored 1, 277 and Lyon scored 1, 584 votes.
But in the originating summons marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/575/2023 dated April 24 but filed April 27, Johnson sued APC, INEC and Sylva as 1st to 3rd respondents, respectively.
Johnson urged the court to grant her relief.
