BAYELSA LAWMAKERS HEAD FOR SUPREME COURT

Barely 24 hours after the Court of Appeal ordered the re-instatement of impeached Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Peremobowei Ebebi, the State House of Assembly has returned to the court seeking stay of execution of the order.

This is because the lawmakers have headed for the Supreme Court to appeal against the re-instatement order.

Lawyer to the House of Assembly, Mr. Sebastine Hon (SAN) filed the motion for stay of execution at the Appeal Court yesterday in Port Harcourt.

In the motion supported by an 18-point affidavit, the House of Assembly is seeking an order staying execution of the judgment of the court delivered on February 16, pending the determination of the appeal filed by the respondent/applicant at the Supreme Court against the said judgment.

They would also want the court to give such orders as it might deem fit in the circumstance. In the sworn affidavit in support of the Motion on Notice, the lawyers to the state legislature deposed, among other points, that part of the consequential orders made by the Court of Appeal was, 'that the case be remitted back to the Bayelsa State High Court to be tried on the merits by another judge of that court.'

The court was also quoted by the lawyers as ordering that, 'all actions taken by the applicants in respect to the impeachment proceedings against the appellant/respondent from 10/6/2010, be and hereby set aside and further that the status quo be maintained.'

The lawyers stated that upon instructions from the applicants, 'we have filed an appeal against that judgment to the Supreme Court' and attached certified copy of the Notice and Grounds of Appeal. Part of the grounds as hinted in the affidavit were that the appellant/respondent (Ebebi) has decamped to the Labour Party and that, 'he has even emerged as that party's senatorial candidate for the Bayelsa West Senatorial District.' It was also averred that the PDP was the original party the appellant used its platform to contest on a joint ticket with the incumbent governor and won as governor/deputy governor.

The affidavit sworn to by B.A. Iorheghem of S.T. Hon (SAN) and Co. Chambers pointed out that the PDP has again given the ticket to Governor Timipre Sylva to run jointly with Seigbarugu Wenipre, who will run in the April, 2011 general elections for the office of governor/deputy governor of Bayelsa State.' The lawyers deposed that 'between now and May 29, is just about three months away, and if this stay is not granted but the applicant's appeal to the Supreme Court succeeds, they will reap an empty judgment because by then, fresh elections would have been conducted into the office of governor/deputy governor of Bayelsa State and there would then be no opportunity of enforcing that judgment of the Supreme Court against the appellant/respondent.'

They stated that 'irreparable damage would be done to the applicants because there would be no return to status quo.'