Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The People’s Democratic Party ( PDP) has said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is relying on “unorthodox ” means to take the governorship of Bayelsa State.

The PDP national chairman, Uche Secondus, in a statement, on Friday, said rather than interrogate its deputy governorship candidate in the last Bayelsa gubernatorial poll, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, on why he has different names in his credentials, the APC is seeking how to get the governorship seat.

The Supreme Court had in a judgment last week nullified the election of David Lyon as governor-elect of Bayelsa State, owing to alleged certificate forgery by his running mate.

However, the APC has approached the apex court to seek for a review of the judgment, while Degi-Eremienyo, at a press briefing on Thursday, denied forging his credentials.
Nevertheless, Secondus noted that the ruling party had left the substance of the matter and be chasing non-issues. He said the APC must allow the sleeping dog lie and not set the Niger Delta region on fire over the Bayelsa governorship.
According to him,‘‘the APC is employing many tactics to get what they have lost back. They are busy addressing press conferences. They have refused to ask questions from their candidate on why he is bearing many names in his certificates.

‘‘How does a person bear three different names at three different occasions? You answer a name in primary school, dropped it while writing WAEC exams and took up another name in the university?
‘‘In a sane clime, the party would first of all invite the aspirant, question him, scold him for bringing the name of the party into disrepute and condemn him.
‘‘What else do you do? You then invite the security agencies to probe him or even take him to court to show to the world that you are not fighting corruption by the words of mouth or persecution of the opposition members alone, but by using the big stick against the offending member of your party.
‘‘We want to warn the APC not to set the Niger Delta region on fire with its actions and clandestine moves on Bayelsa. The state has always been a PDP state, including the entire region of South-South.
‘‘They should not use any other means on Bayelsa State. We relied on the law and their lordship had spoken. They should allow the sleeping dog lie.’’