The fate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) to participate in Saturday’s governorship election was further sealed on Thursday as a Federal High Court in Bayelsa ruled that the party has no candidate by voiding the primaries organized by the party on September 4, 2019.

The case was instituted by a factional leader and a gubernatorial aspirant, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, former Minister of State for Agiculture who claimed that he won the party primaries as against Mr. David Lyon whose name was submitted by the national headquarter of the APC.

This comes on the heels of a judgment by a Federal High Court on Wednesday which disqualified the APC deputy governorship candidate, Mr. Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo from participating in the election. Ordinarily, according to section 187 (1) of the constitution, this disqualification invalidates the APC ticket because a governorship candidate in an election must present a deputy governorship candidate to be validly nominated.

And, on Thursday November 14, 2019, an appellate court, the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja ordered a stay of execution of the orders of a Federal High Court, Abuja, made on Wednesday November 13, disqualifying David Lyon, the deputy governorship candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, from participating in the Saturday election.

The court cases have thrown up fresh challenges for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and created confusion for everybody including the voters. But INEC has declared through its national Commissioner on Information and Voter education, Festus Okoye that “we can’t remove APC on the already printed ballot paper but any vote cast for APC is a wasted vote”. Bayelsa state INEC information Officer Sarian Dangosu, further said that none of the Court orders stopped INEC from conducting the election.

Going by the INEC timetable and announcement made at a stakeholders meeting last week in Yenagoa, distribution of ballot papers and other important materials relating to the November 16, election in Bayelsa would have started by last weekend because of the terrain of the street that has several towns and villages in the creeks.

Though there are over forty candidates flying the flags of different political parties in the governorship election in Bayelsa state, but in truth, it was going to be a two-horse race contest, between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC). With the court judgments, the field may have been thrown bare for the PDP to win the contest with little stress. It is different strokes for the the two parties. But the APC is fighting back and the Court of Appeal stay of execution order is the evidence.

This development which has created a lot of confusion, may have further heightened fear of violence in the election which had all the trappings of being bloody. On Wednesday, six persons allegedly lost their lives when the PDP went to Nembe Local Government Area to campaign. This registered as a prelude and pointers to what could happen on Saturday. A lot of Bayelsans had emigrated out of the state for fear of their lives.

The Nigeria Police has proactively deployed 32,000 personnel ensure that violence is curtailed and law and order maintained. The IGP, Mohammed Adamu in a stern warning to a meeting of stakeholders asked trouble makers and election riggers to exit Bayelsa state immediately.”We are ready for the election and we will cover every nook and cranny of Bayelsa”

He said 32,000 personnel would be deployed for election duty in the state, “every polling unit will get the required number of personnel, while materials and officials would be protected”.

Some persons have argued that rather than wait till after voting on Saturday before voiding APC’s votes, INEC should go out using its voter education outlets to inform voters not to vote for the APC on the ballot paper. Others argued, however, that such an action could amount to the Electoral umpire campaigning against a political party which is not part of its mandate. The only other option to remove the APC from the ballot paper would be for the election to be postponed.