The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has described Thursday’s nullification of the election of David Lyon as Bayelsa state governor-elect, as victory for democracy.
The Supreme Court yesterday directed the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to withdraw the certificate of return earlier issued to Lyon and deputy governor-elect, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremieoyo over controversy in the latter’s academic qualification.
Reacting to the directive, deputy national publicity secretary of the party, Diran Odeyemi, said the development is a confirmation of the truism that indeed, judiciary remains the last hope of the common man.
According to him, judges sitting in other election disputes have a lot to learn from the Justice Mary Odili-led panel which directed the issuance of a certificate of return to the PDP governorship candidate, Senator Duoye Diri, adding that courage is what distinguishes a great judge in the pack.
“We want to salute the Justices for upholding the rule of law. They have demonstrated that there are still good judges in our country. We won the election and the learned justices have now proven that.
“I heard that some people are saying we should forget Imo now that we have gotten Bayelsa but that is not the way to go. What we are asking for in the case of Imo is a review of the apex court’s judgment and we know there is a window of hope that the right thing will be done.
“We congratulate our governor-elect and we are looking forward to working with him in his quest to further consolidate on the legacies of the outgoing governor,” he said.
