Ex-Council Boss Drags Bayelsa Assembly, Others To Court

A member of Bayelsa State Independent Electoral Commission, Hon. Barnabas Tugwell Edure has gone to court to challenge his removal as a Commissioner in the state’s electoral board.

The State House of Assembly had on Tuesday last week in a resolution ordered the removal of the embattled Edure as a member of the commission following a motion moved by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Nestor Binabo and seconded by Amalanyo Yousuo representing Brass Constituency Two.

According to the motion, Edure was not eligible to serve in the commission having been indicted and impeached as the Chairman of Sagbama Local Government Council in 2006.

For this reason the House said, Edure is not supposed to hold public office for at least 10 years.

Edure, is however challenging the decision of the House, accusing the Deputy Speaker of masterminding his removal, saying that the court should intervene.

Joined in the suit are the state House of Assembly, the Governor, and Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of the state as co-defendants.

In the motion on notice, Edure is praying the court to grant an interim injunction restraining the defendants, their servants and agents from effecting the decision of the Assembly pending the determination of the substantive suit.

In an affidavit to support the motion, Edure claimed that he had resigned as council chairman of Sagbama Local Government Area before the purported impeachment panel sat over his case.

Insisting that he was not given a fair hearing before taking the resolution to remove him, Hon. Edure said since he was sworn-in as commissioner in the commission, he had not been found wanting in discharging his duty or accused of gross misconduct.

“My purported removal was orchestrated by Nestor Binabo who was bent on removing me to score a political point,” he stated.