The Guardian (Nigeria)

Appeal Court Affirms Lulu-briggs As Accord Party Guber Flagbearer In Rivers

- From Segun Olaniyi, Abuja and Anietie Akpan, Calabar From Rauf Oyewole, Bauchi

Okays Owan Enoh, Ndoma-egba, Others As Authentic Candidates Of APC In Cross River

THecourt of Appeal sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, has affirmed Dumo LuluBriggs as Accord gubernator­ial candidate in Rivers state. The court granted the applicatio­n for stay of execution on the judgment of Justice Obili of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt which ruled recently that Precious Baridoo and not Dumo LuluBriggs was the Rivers State governorsh­ip candidate of Accord.

Similarly, the Appeal Court sitting in Calabar has declared Senator John Owan-enoh, Senator Victor Ndoma-egba and others before it by Wilcox Abereton (SAN), the lead counsel to Chief Dumo Lulu-briggs. The presiding judge granted the applicatio­n for stay of execution and further granted an injunction restrainin­g Precious Baridoo from parading himself as the Rivers Accord governorsh­ip candidate.

“By this ruling, Chief Dumo Lulu-briggs remains the INEC recognized Rivers State governorsh­ip candidate of Accord in Rivers State and the person whose name was legally submitted to INEC by the National Working Committee of Accord,” the statement said.

My Time Is Up, Says Bauchi Finance Commission­er As He Resigns Hours To Rerun in the state. Ministry of Finance and regard, respect and fatherly The ex-commission­er while Economic Developmen­t and advice indeed the gesture is addressing newsmen yesterthat the decision is from my of course reciprocal. day said: “It is with pains, independen­t mind”. “Therefore, it is my privilege heavy heart and deep conGarba Akuyam in 2015 was and singular honour to most cern that I write to tender my the campaign director gensincere­ly register my appreresig­nation with effect from eral of the incumbent ciation for the recognitio­n today Friday, 22 March 2019. Governor before he was accorded to me by your “I am compelled to resign my appointed as commission­er Excellency to serve your govappoint­ment, in view of the for Rural Developmen­t and ernment and the good peorecent developmen­ts and later asked to supervise minple of Bauchi State as compolitic­al realities of present istry of finance about 2 and missioner, promising to day in Bauchi State, as well as half years. He said in his resanswer another call to serve dictates of the movement, ignation letter that: “I in all my dear state when ever hence my resolve to honhonesty enjoyed working called upon to do that in ourably relinquish my posiwith your Excellency, who another capacity as the need tion as Hon. Commission­er has always been giving me may perhaps arise”, he said.

TBauchi State Commission­er of Finance Hon. Garba Sarki Muhammad Akuyam has said his time is up as a commission­er under the administra­tion of Governor Muhammed Abubakar and has tendered his resignatio­n letter yesterday to the Governor.

He said his resignatio­n as a member of the state executive council did not affect his membership of the ruling All Progressiv­es Congress(apc) whose names were published by the Independen­t National Electoral Commission, (INEC) as the legitimate candidates of APC.

The Appeal Court also confirmed the John Ochalla-led state executive as the authentic one in the suit NO: CA/C/70/2019 bothering on leadership of the state executive of the party and sacked that of Etim John.

The presiding Judge, Justice J.S. Ikyegh and two others; Justice T. Abubakar and Justice U. A. Ogakwu unanimousl­y ruled in Cases N0: CA/C/62/2019 and CA/C/70/2019 involving Etim John and others versus John Ochalla and others including Senator John Owan-enoh representi­ng other APC candidates in the 2019 elections that the Calabar Federal High Court acted without jurisdicti­on in its order.

A statement issued by the Director of Communicat­ions, Dumo Lulu-briggs Campaign Organisati­on, Sotonye IjuyeDagog­o, said Justice A. Lamido of the Court of Appeal, Yenagoa, delivered his ruling on the matter yesterday.

The ruling was in respect of an applicatio­n brought

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