Bayelsa guber: APC reacts as court sacks Timipre Sylva

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has announced its intention to appeal Monday’s decision to bar Chief Timipre Sylva, its candidate for governor of Bayelsa, from the election scheduled for November 11.

According to a report by InfoStride News, on Monday, Justice Donatus Okorowo of the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled that Sylva was unable to run for governor.

Okorowo concluded that allowing Sylva to run again would be a violation of the 1999 constitution as amended because Sylva had already been sworn in twice and had been Governor of Bayelsa for five years.

This was announced on Tuesday in Yenagoa by Mr. Perry Tukuwei, Director, Media and Publicity for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Bayelsa Gubernatorial Campaign Council.

The party’s attorneys have been instructed to file an appeal, and they are positive that the Federal High Court’s decision will be reversed by the Court of Appeal.

“This reassurance comes in response to a ruling by a Federal High Court in Abuja that has the fingerprints of the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate all over it, and which has already failed to dash the hopes of Bayelsa people to have their preferred candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, as the next helmsman at Creek Haven by February 14, 2024.

Chief Demesuoyefa Kolomo, who is not a member of the APC and did not participate in our party’s governorship primaries, does not have the locus standi to sue in the matter, as only persons who contested primaries of a political party have the locus standi to file a pre-election matter to challenge the qualification of the party’s candidate in any election.

Tukuwei said, “INEC published the names of the governorship candidates for Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi on May 12, but this case was filed on the 13th of June 2023.” This is in violation of Section 285 of the 1999 Nigerian constitution, which states that any aggrieved party must file election matter within 14 days of the occurrence of the event.

Later, he elaborated, saying, ”The lawsuit was submitted more than 14 days after the deadline set by the Constitution, rendering it time-barred.

The court’s decision to rule in favor of the plaintiff despite their lack of locus standi has surprised the party and the people of Bayelsa.

He claimed the complaint went against a Supreme Court order that said all election-related cases must be adjudicated in the state where the relevant party primaries took place.

The complaint was filed in Abuja as the last touch to their nefarious plan. Is Bayelsa the home of Abuja?

With our governorship candidate enjoying unrivaled acceptance across the state, he is cruising to victory already, and the Bayelsa APC can smell the coffee and the nefarious move Gov. Douye Diri is making to go through the back door, as is his customary pattern.

Don’t be afraid, good people of Bayelsa! He vowed that despite the PDP’s covert efforts, Sylva will be elected as Bayelsa’s next governor.