Newspaper review for Friday, February 14: APC, PDP, INEC react to Bayelsa Supreme Court verdict
The Supreme Court on Thursday, February 13, gave another surprise verdict sacking the governor-elect of Bayelsa state, David Lyon. This key issue occupies the front page of nearly all Nigeria's print newspapers published on Friday, February 14.
Vanguard newspaper in its own version of the report explained why David Lyon was sacked by the apex court and the position of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The newspaper also considered whether or not the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)'s candidate, Douye Diri, met the requirements needed to be declared Bayelsa governor-elect after the nullification of Lyon's votes.
According to Vanguard, Douye met the 25% requirement in 5 local government areas but needed 5.32 to win.
The paper also covered the position of the APC regarding the ruling and the consequential reactions from stakeholders.
Source: UGC
ThisDay newspaper captures three major angles in its own version of the report: the INEC, the APC, and the PDP.
Explainer: The real reason why Supreme Court sacked Bayelsa APC governor-elect, David Lyon
The newspaper reports that INEC said it was going to rework the results after removing the APC to know who would be declared the winner.
The APC, as expected, stood against the verdict while maintaining that no other candidate had the requisite spread to be declared the winner.
The PDP in its own reaction said it accepted the judgment but also wants the apex court review the Imo governorship election verdict in its favour.
In its headline, the newspaper said the PDP reclaimed the state. This is due to the fact that the state has been under the control of the PDP since 1999. Just when everyone thought the APC has finally taken over the state, the court handed it over back to the PDP.
Source: UGC
The Nation's version of the report mainly focused on the position of INEC. According to the newspaper, INEC confirmed that it has received communication from the Supreme Court regarding the ruling while it said it would meet to ensure the exact wordings of the judgement are complied with.
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Source: UGC
The Punch newspaper also reported the Bayelsa governorship election saga from three major editorial directions.
The newspaper focused on while Lyon was sacked which, according to the apex court, is due his deputy’s forged certificates.
It also covered the side of APC chairman, Oshiomhole, who claimed that the PDP candidate didn’t score 25% of lawful votes.
The newspaper also covered INEC's reaction to the development.
Source: UGC
The Guardian newspaper, in its own version of the report, covered what the APC intends to do next after the verdict.
According to the report, Oshiomhole said his party will seek a review and reversal of the verdict by the apex court while Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike asked the federal government to call the APC chairman to order.
As it stands, INEC has finished reviewing the results and has declared PDP's Diri as the governor-elect of Bayelsa state.
Source: UGC
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