The former Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri has dragged the All Progressives Congress (APC), before a Federal High Court in Yenagoa, seeking the nullification of Lyon David Pereworinimi’s candidacy as winner of the September 4, primary in the state.
The plaintiff is also praying the court to declare him winner of the controversial poll.
In the court action instituted on his behalf by Mr Fitzgerald Olorogun, the former minister claimed to have won the September 4, governorship primary of the party with a majority votes of 111, 439, claiming that Aganaba Stephen came second with 5,426, Ebitimi Amgbare was the third position with 638 votes while Lyon David Pereworinimi came fifth with 325 votes.
In the originating summons made available to newsmen in Abuja, yesterday, Lokpobiri applied for an order of perpetual injunction restraining APC, its officers, agents and privies from treating, presenting or holding out Lyon to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the party’s candidate for the election.
The plaintiff also sought an order of perpetual injunction stopping INEC, its officers, agents and privies from accepting or further accepting, publishing or further publishing David Lyon as the flag bearer and another order barring the electoral body from excluding him as the APC candidate.
Besides, the governorship aspirant sought another order to stop Lyon from parading or further parading, presenting or further presenting himself as APC candidate and a similar order against INEC to stop it from accepting, recognising, or dealing with Lyon or putting his image on the ballot paper in the name of APC as the party’s governorship candidate.
Lokpobiri wants the court to compel INEC to treat him as the lawful candidate of APC and to accord him the rights, privileges and perquisites of a candidate of APC in the gubernatorial election.
In a 45-paragraph affidavit in support of the suit, the plaintiff averred that a governorship primary election committee was constituted by the National Secretariat of the APC under the chairmanship of Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni and that the committee in compliance with the directive of the party conducted the primary poll through direct primary procedures.
The plaintiff, who personally deposed to the affidavit, claimed that the primary election was conducted throughout the state with the involvement of local government and ward chairmen of the party with six governorship aspirants, including himself participating.
At the end of the primary election, Lokpobiri claimed that he won majority of lawful votes in five local governments comprising Ekeremor with 48,113, Sagbama with 24,890, Ogbia with 13,349, Yenagoa with 18,258 and Kolokuma/Opokuma where he scored 6,809, bringing his total score to 111,439 while David Lyon unlawfully declared as winner scored only 325 votes.
The plaintiff averred that instead of Yobe State governor to supervise collation and declaration of results in line with APC guidelines, one Senator Emmanuel Ocheja, allegedly announced false results without any collation and made Lyon a purported winner of the September 4 primary election.