Bayelsa 2023 Governorship Polls: We Will Appeal Against Sylva’s Disqualification-APC Vows

By Babatunde Solanke

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Gubernatorial Campaign Council in Bayelsa State has vowed to appeal against the disqualification of its candidate in the state, Timipre Sylva, from the November 11 polls in the state.

The party stated this while reacting to Monday’s judgment of a Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by Justice Donatus Okorowo, which disqualified Sylva from the election.

The council, in a statement by the Director, Media and Publicity, Perry Tukuwei, on Tuesday, reassured the people of Bayelsa of a landslide victory at the polls.

Okorowo gave the judgment in a suit numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/821/2023 filed on June 13, 2023, by a member of the APC, Deme Kolomo.

He ruled that Sylva, having been sworn in twice and ruled for five years as governor of Bayelsa would breach the 1999 constitution as amended if allowed to contest again.

The judge also declared that Sylva was not qualified to run in the November poll because if he wins and is sworn in, he would spend more than eight years in office as governor of the state.

Citing the case of Marwa vs Nyako at the Supreme Court, Okorowo noted that the drafters of the country’s constitution stated that nobody should be voted for as governor more than twice and that the parties to the suit agreed that Sylva was voted into office two times.

He further stated that the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Marwa vs Nyako that nobody can expand the constitution or its scope. So, if Sylva is allowed to contest the next election, it means a person can contest as many times as he wishes.

The APC campaign council described the verdict as “an already failed bid to dash the hopes of Bayelsans to have their preferred candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, as the next helmsman at Creek Haven by February 14, 2024.”

It vowed that the party would appeal the judgment as it had briefed its lawyers, and expressed confidence that the appellate court would overturn the ruling.

The statement read, “Sections 29 and 84 of the 2022 Electoral Act states that only persons who contested primaries of a political party that has the locus standi to file a pre-election matter to challenge the qualification of the party’s candidate in any election hence the suit filed by one Chief Demesuoyefa Kolomo, who is not a member of the All Progressives Congress and didn’t contest our party’s governorship primaries do not have the locus standi to sue in the matter.

“Section 285 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution enjoins any aggrieved party to file an or election matter within 14 days of the occurrence of the event but this case was filed on the 13th of June 2023 whereas INEC published the names of the governorship candidates for Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi on the 12th of May 2023. Thus, the case was filed outside the constitutionally prescribed 14 days thereby making the case statute barred. It is surprising to the party and Bayelsans that the court ignored the fact that the plaintiff lacked the locus standi to sue and went ahead to give judgment in their favour.

“Additionally, there is a practice directive by the Supreme Court that all pre-election matters be heard in the state where the primaries took place. To perfect their sinister act, the case was filed in Abuja. Is Abuja, Bayelsa?

“Subsequently, the Bayelsa All Progressives Congress can smell the coffee and sinister move by Governor Douye Diri to go through the back door, which is his usual practice, having realised that our governorship candidate Chief Timipre Sylva is coasting home to victory already following unrivalled acceptance in the eight local government areas of the state.

“The Party has briefed its lawyers to appeal the judgment and it is confident that the Court of Appeal will overturn the judgment of the Federal High Court.”