BY Samuel Oyadongha

Yenagoa—The Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, yesterday, dismissed the petition by Change Advocacy Party, CAP, challenging the  eligibility of Governor Seriake Dickson as Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  candidate for the February 2012 poll.

The court dismissed the suit for lack of merit. CAP and its governorship candidate, Dr. Imoru Kubor had sought the disqualification of the PDP candidate for the February 11, election on the grounds that he was not qualified to contest  the election as the case was before an Appeal Court in Abuja.

CAP also prayed the tribunal to declare the PDP candidate unfit to contest the poll, as he had a pending case before a competent court in Abuja and an existing order restraining him from contesting the governorship poll.

The three-man election tribunal led by Justice Muhammed Ibrahim, in its ruling,  noted that CAP’s petition lacked merit and same was dismissed.

The tribunal noted that PDP submitted the name of Seriake Dickson as its candidate to Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC for the 2012 poll in Bayelsa State, adding that the pending suit on the issue of the emergence of  Dickson as candidate of the party was not against the candidate but the party, the PDP.

The tribunal dismissed the claim by the petitioner,  that a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, had in a suit between the former Governor Timipre Sylva and PDP, restrained the PPD from conducting the primary election at which Dickson emerged as the candidate of the party.