TheCable

The All Progressives Congress (APC) says its primary election for the Bayelsa governorship election is open to all contestants.

Timipre Sylva, minister of state for petroleum resources, and David Lyon, Bayelsa governor-elect who was later sacked by the supreme court, are the top contenders for the ticket.

The apex court withdrew the certificate of return issued to Lyon on grounds that Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, his running mate, submitted forged credentials to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Some groups have been calling on the APC to compensate Lyon by giving him an automatic ticket to contest the governorship election scheduled for November.

Speaking on Channels Television, on Thursday, Felix Morka, spokesperson of the APC, said sympathy for Lyon would not replace due process.

“If this was up to individuals, I’m quite sure that the sentiments are with David Lyon,” Morka said.

“But when you have laws that govern the process; the electoral act, the party’s constitution, the federal constitution of Nigeria at play, when people insist they want a competitive, fair, transparent process, and invoke provisions of the constitutions and the electoral act, you can’t shove it aside.

“If you take a barometer and measure the level of sympathy for David Lyon, yes, even amongst the leaders of the party, there are many who have enormous sympathy for his situation but at the end of the day, you cannot use sympathy to upstage legality and due process.

“Sometimes, no matter the strength of your sentiments, you yield to the law because if you don’t, the judges will not be governed by sentiments if the matter goes to court in a legal challenge.”