Bayelsa State Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson on Tuesday said that the era
of deceiving the Judiciary to get judgments and electoral victory through
the backdoor was over in Nigeria.
He premised this optimism on the Supreme Court ruling on the governorship
election in Rivers, Abia and Akwa-Ibom States.
Dickson had while attributing his victory over the APC and its candidate,
Timipre Sylva in the recently-conclude election to the divine
intervention, insisted that his opponent was relying on the judiciary to
make him governor.
A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the
governor’s spoke on a live Radio and Television programme in Yenagoa,
where he was emphatic that it would be foolhardy for anyone to think that
he could upturn the decision of the people by manipulating the judicial
process.
While expressing his readiness to face the All Progressives Congress (APC)
at the Election Petition Tribunal, Dickson argued that, there were enough
evidence to counter all the issues raised in their petition, “even though
I am yet to be served.”
Election into public offices, according to him, is all about the people
and since they have spoken through their votes, it will be difficult for
it to be upturned.
Having won in seven out of the eight LGAs of Bayelsa state, Dickson said,
he was not ready to comment on the case, as it would tantamount to
subjudice.
He wondered the kind of magic the APC was expecting at the Tribunal.
Dickson said, “I am very surprised that, instead of congratulating me and
working with us to rebuild our state to move forward as a people, he is
being misled or is misleading others to think that the Judiciary can be
manipulated to see how they can upturn the popular will of the people.
“I believe that the recent judgment of the Supreme Court and the recent
posture of the Supreme Court should make people to think twice. The
message from the Judiciary, now is that, those who want to be governors
should win popular votes from their people.
“The message is that, you cannot lose an election; rejected by your people
at the polls and then come through the back door to hoodwink the Judiciary
to give you a mandate that your people never gave you. If that message is
lost on the Bayelsa APC and their candidate, who is going about
compromising national institutions; then it’s unfortunate.”