The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, to be mindful of his utterances following the judgement of the Supreme Court on the Bayelsa State governorship election.
In a statement on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party described Oshiomhole as ‘factional national chairman’ who has ‘no stake whatsoever in the wellbeing of his own home state’.
“The party warned Oshiomhole, to steer clear of Bayelsa State as his apparent plots to trigger violence in the state has failed.
“The PDP further counselled Oshiomhole to be careful with his utterances and not use any forms of venomous garrulity and clear misuse of language to destabilise our nation and truncate our hard-earned democracy,” the statement said.
Earlier, the APC national chairman rejected the verdict of the court which sacked the candidate of his party, David Lyon, as the governor-elect in Bayelsa.
He had told a press conference at the APC secretariat in Abuja that the nobody was qualified to be sworn in as governor of Bayelsa State.
According to him, no one can be sworn in legally as governor in Bayelsa on Friday unless there is a deliberate abuse of the legal process.
In its reaction, the PDP described Oshiomhole’s comments on the ruling of the Supreme Court as “empty and inconsequential ranting”.
It stressed that the people of Bayelsa were aware that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) cannot take instructions from any individual.
The party said it was law-abiding but asked Oshiomhole to desist from what it called odious designs against Bayelsa, its government, as well as its people.
It urged the people of the state to remain calm, saying as their mandate has been restored and cannot be taken away by the ranting of any individual.
The reactions from the PDP and the APC national chairman followed the verdict of the apex court which sacked Lyon and his running mate, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremieoyo, as the winners of the November 16, 2019 governorship election.
A five-man panel of the apex court led by Justice Mary Peter-Odili had ordered INEC to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to APC candidates and issue a fresh one to the candidate of the party with the next highest votes, and with the required constitutional spread of votes in the results of the election.
Justice Ejembi Ekwo, who read the lead judgment, had disqualified Degi-Eremieoyo as a candidate in the election for submitting forged certificates to INEC and upheld the November 12, 2019 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
He held that the deputy-governorship candidate had infected the joint ticket with which he and the Lyon ran for and won the election.
