Tribunal: Bayelsa APC Reps Candidate Accepts Defeat, Congratulates PDP’s Marie Ebikake

Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last Federal House of Representatives election in Bayelsa State, Israel Sunny-Goli, has congratulated his counterpart in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Marie Ebikake, following a ruling by the Election Petition Tribunal which upheld the victory of the later to represent the Brass/Nembe Federal Constituency of the state.

Naija News reports that Sunny-Goli, in a statement issued in Yenagoa, the state capital on Thursday, shelved any move to appeal the judgement of the tribunal.

“After assessing the recent judgement of the Election Petition Tribunal, delivered on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, which upheld the victory of my opponent in the February 25, 2023, House of Representatives election, for the Brass/Nembe Federal Constituency, Hon. Marie Ebikake, and the impediment a prolonged legal tussle poses to the development of our constituency, I have arrived at the conclusion that it is best to accept the decision of the Tribunal and not go on to appeal its decision,” the former member of the Federal House of Representatives said.

Sunny-Goli stated that his decision was predicated on his personal experience after the 2019 election, wherein, he was dragged before the Election Petition Tribunal and the court of appeal, respectively, by his opponent, who happens to be the same Hon. Ebikake.

He added: “Without mincing words, I must admit that the legal tussle was unsettling and distractive, and I sincerely do not wish to be a clog in the wheel of progress for the very people I seek to serve, by stretching this legal tussle beyond the Election Petition Tribunal.

“It is on this note that I congratulate Hon. Marie Ebikake on her victory in the February 2023 House of Representatives election, as well as the favourable judgement she got against me from the Election Petition Tribunal.

“I look forward to seeing her bring the dividends of democracy to our people as she settles down to the business of representing them in the National Assembly.”

“Let me also use this medium to encourage my supporters and followers alike. This is by no means an end to our political aspirations, as the future holds for us, prospects brighter than whatever we may have achieved in the course of our political journey.”

The politician further urged his supporters and party members to remain calm and hopeful, saying that the development was only a temporary setback.

“We shall bounce back from it bigger, stronger and better. A new chapter with greater prospect awaits us, and soon, we shall have a reason to be thankful for the benevolence of God towards us,” Sunny-Goli concluded.