The Bayelsa State All Progressives Congress (APC) Gubernatorial Campaign Council has criticized the Federal High Court’s decision to disqualify its candidate, Timipre Sylva, from the November 11 governorship election in the state.
Justice Donatus Okorowo of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, ruled on Monday, that Sylva was ineligible to participate in the Bayelsa governorship race for the third time, in a lawsuit filed by Chief Demesuoyefa Kolomo, a member of the APC, on June 13, 2023.
The plaintiff had sought Sylva’s disqualification, arguing that he had served as Bayelsa State’s governor twice before.
In his verdict, Justice Okorowo stated that allowing Sylva to contest again would violate the 1999 constitution (as amended) because he had already been sworn in as governor twice and ruled for five years in total.
The judge further declared that Sylva was not qualified to run in the November 11 poll because his victory would result in him spending more than eight years as the state’s governor.
But, the APC Campaign Council in a statement signed by the Director of Media and Publicity, Perry Tukuwei, on Tuesday, re-assured Bayelsans of a landslide victory at the November 11, 2023 governorship election and subsequent swearing-in of its governorship candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, adding that the party has briefed its lawyers to appeal the judgement and it was confident that the Court of Appeal will overturn the judgement of the Federal High Court.
The Council also alleged that the ruling bore the fingerprints of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, viewing it as an unsuccessful attempt to thwart Bayelsans’ hopes of having Chief Timipre Sylva as their next leader at the Creek Haven seat of power in Yenagoa.
The statement reads, “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 a 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 constitutional 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 judgement 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 realized that our governorship candidate Chief Timipre Sylva is coasting home to victory already following unrivaled acceptance in the eight local government areas of the state.”