Some leaders of the Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party (ANDP) have disowned the August 17, 2020 judgment of the Bayelsa State Governorship Election Tribunal, that voided the victory of Governor Douye Diri and order a fresh election within 90 days.
Speaking on Saturday evening in Abuja, Hon. James Pere Femowei, who said he is the ANDP’s National Chairman, said his party, both at the state and national levels, never authorised the petition on which the tribunal based its judgment.
Femowei, who read a statement signed by him as ANDP National Chairman and Hon. Quadru-Adu S. Kehinde, as National Secretary, said his party never fielded candidates for the last governorship election in Bayelsa State held on November 16, 2019.
He faulted Charles Ogboli’s claim to being the party’s National Chairman, stating that Ogboli had allegedly been sacked from the position and expelled from the party since December 8, 2018, which developments were communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Femowei, who said he was the party’s National Legal Adviser while Ogboli served as the National Chairman of the ANDP, added that himself and other leaders of the party only learnt about the case before the tribunal few days before judgment.
He said: “It is our avowed intention to be joined in the suit and raise preliminary objections to the locus of Chief Ogboli to have filed the suit in the first instance.
“The ANDP, as a party did not field any candidate for the governorship election in Bayelsa State. ANDP Bayelsa State did not sue INEC, PDP nor Governor Douye Diri. ANDP National did not sue INEC, PDP nor Governor Douye Diri.
“ANDP Bayelsa State did not present any candidate for the purpose of contesting November 16, 2019 Governorship election, as it had earlier adopted Senator Douye Diri of the PDP.
“The NWC or State Exco did not attend any purported ANDP primary in Bayelsa before the election. How, where, when, which and how was the primary held without the involvement of the party organs in the state?
“Barrister Ogboli should thus produce the list of members who attended the primaries, or, INEC can equally produce the attendance list of the National Working Committee (NWC) members and the state exco, who were present at the ANDP primaries.
“It is instructive to note that the purported ANDP candidate and the presumed deputy withdrew from the suit when the full extent of the charade was brought to their notice.
“The NWC is responsible for conducting primary elections at states and Local Govemment levels.
“At no time did the NWC of the party mandate Chief Ogboli to field candidates for the Bayelsa Election since he had been rightly expelled since the 8th day of December 2018 for several acts of gross misconduct.
“Reasons for this expulsion are well documented n a report submitted to the Election and Party Monitoring (EPM) Unit of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”
