The All Progressives Congress (APC) has postponed indefinitely the Bayelsa State Governorship Primaries for the emergence of its flag bearer for the November 16 governorship election in the state.
The postponement, according to APC sources, was arrived at following a meeting between the Yobe State governor, Mai-Mala Buni, appointed by the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress as Returning Officer for the Bayelsa State 2019 governorship primary election and some of the governorship aspirants.
It was gathered that the former minister of state for Agriculture and Rural Development was absent at the meeting held at the Royal Tulip Hotel owned by the state government.
Confirming the development, a governorship aspirant, Prince Ebitimi Angbare, said the decision was arrived at following the subsisting court order issued by Justice Mukoro of the state high court sitting in Sagbama area of the state.
According to him, ’the primaries of the party has been postponed indefinitely. I am just leaving the meeting presided over by the Yobe State governor.’
‘We all agreed that the court order should be vacated. Before the conduct of proper primaries,
the Bayelsa high court had, on Wednesday, August 28, granted an order restraining the National Executive Committee(NEC) of All Progressives Congress (APC) from adopting direct primary in selecting the party’s flag-bearer for November 16 governorship elections in the state.
According to the order of interim injunction made by Justice E.G Umokoro, the party’s NEC should refrain from applying direct primaries for the forthcoming exercise pending the determination of the substantive suit filed by some party stakeholders.
Messrs Japan Christopher, Evinson Olotu, Oddu Onyimiebi and Onyimiebi Isaiah took the national chairman of APC and 23 members of his executive and Bayelsa chapter executives to court over the decision to use direct primary for the Bayelsa governorship polls, pending the determination of the substantive suit.
The judge also ordered for an accelerated hearing of the substantive suit and abridged the time frame for the respondents to file their response and counter affidavit to seven days given the timeliness of the matter.
The APC, on August 24, screened the immediate past minister of state for agriculture and rural development, Sen Heineken Lokpobiri.
Others who were screened by the Mr Ita Isong-led national screening committee include a former female commissioner of police, Deseye Poweigha, Ebitimi Amgbare, David Lyon and Preye Aganaba.
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