Former Governor Timipre Sylva would attempt once again to convince the courts of his innocence while taking charge of government affairs in Bayelsa State. Obiora Ifoh recalls that the former governor had treaded on this judicial turf earlier having gone from High Court to Appeal Court and also to the Supreme Court where he lost in all. What then are the options left to him?
Between 2007 and 2011, Chief Timipre Sylva occupied the 'Creek Haven', Bayelsa Governor's lodge like the Lord of the Manor, completely in charge and was known as one governor who spared no opposition or dissension of any kind, however minute. Incidentally, within that same period, his kinsman was also the Vice-President of Nigeria and later the acting President and then substantive President; talking of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.
In spite of having attained this political height, President Jonathan was also served the Sylva treatment. It got to a stage where the President was completely alienated from the affairs of his home state as he was not even consulted in all political matters. Sylva made sure that he turned most of the political office holders, including the state and national legislators from the state, against the President. He allegedly informed the President that he should remain in Abuja as the leader while he, Sylva, must be seen and respected as the leader in Bayelsa.
It was this prevailing situation that triggered off plots by Abuja politicians to stop Sylva from re-contesting but the opportunity offered itself when the Supreme Court judgment on the tenure elongation bid affected five governors, as the apex court stopped Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from conducting elections in those states, Bayelsa inclusive.
However, in order not to leave his ambitions to chances, Sylva recontested for the PDP ticket and was nominated as the governorship candidate for the April 2011 governorship election. However, that governorship election did not hold in the state as he and the other four governors got a High Court verdict extending their tenure beyond May 29, 2011. Following an upper court verdict annulling the earlier High Court verdict that extended his stay beyond May, the party dumped Sylva by refusing him from participating in the rescheduled party primaries. The party instead fielded Hon. Seriake Dickson, who was then in the House of Representatives and he eventually got elected as the state governor.
Given the turn of events, a dissatisfied Sylva approached the courts and asked for a declaration that his initial nomination remained valid for the said election. He argued that there was no legal or constitutional propriety for the later nomination which produced the current governor: thus the journey to reclaim his mandate began.
Recall that then, there was an agreement between the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) to support the emergence of Jonathan and in return, the support of the party and presidency would be transferred to all the PDP governors qualified to stand election as at then, to be re-elected. But with the Supreme Court judgment, PDP truncated Sylva's ambition to re-contest in the January 2012 governorship election
Sylva had cried blue murder, accusing the national leadership of the PDP and the presidency of perpetrating illegality by not only quashing his ambition to participate in the gubernatorial primary election it conducted in the state on November 19, 2011 but that the party equally sponsored a supposed 'illegitimate' candidate for the election.
At the rally organised to promote Dickson as the PDP candidate, the President cited an incident in which the former governor was stoned as a sign of his rejection by the people and a five-star Tower Hotel project allegedly abandoned by the Sylva administration.
Sylva did not deny the incident but rather said that the stoning in Yenagoa happened during the president's visit and that it was widely believed to have been arranged by a few misguided elements, which, with the backing of Mr. President, had used the presidential security to subvert the security of the state on purpose to embarrass Him.
Sylva had stated: "But let us state that it was not the governor who was disgraced by the stoning. Instead, it was the president himself. Now, if stoning is a yardstick for non-performance, are we also right to say that the burning down of Mr. President's house in 2007, in the run-up to that year's general elections, was also an act of rejection by the people of the state? A lot of people believed that the burning of his house and the action of militants in 2007 were an expression of rejection.
"In addition, can we also say that the stoning of President Jonathan, in May, last year, in Uganda, was a global act of rejection? Besides, it was after the stoning incident in Yenagoa in late 2010 that Mr. President came back to Yenagoa, raised the hand of Sylva, and spoke glowingly about his achievements, saying he has performed excellently and that the people of Bayelsa should vote him into office. It was after the stoning that he came back and voted in the January 2011 PDP governorship primaries and gave a glowing report of Sylva's performance.
"So what suddenly changed from January 2011 to later that year when President Jonathan manipulated all the institutions of state, including the armed and security forces, the judiciary and critical organs of democracy like the political parties, in full cry, leaving the security and economic challenges which he faced, to embark on OPERATION REMOVE SYLVA as the sole mandate which the people of Nigeria gave to him? Didn't Jonathan know there was a stoning incident when he came to say Governor Sylva should be voted in January?"
All these are now history or so it seems, but with Sylva's attempt to resurrect his battle to regain his 'stolen mandate', through the judiciary which hitherto saw no reason the governor should be allowed the grace; at a time when his tormentorin- chief, President Jonathan is still on the throne appears to be another case of a wild goose chase.
The Supreme Court recently nailed the fate of Sylva by dismissing his appeal against the February 11, 2012 election of Governor Dickson. The crux of that suit was still the challenging of the refusal of PDP to field him as its candidate for the governorship election in the state.
The court had ruled that fielding of candidates for elections is an intra-party affair in which courts cannot interfere. Reacting to the verdict, Sylva said in a statement by his media aide, Doifie Ola that it was "man`s judgment that is devoid of justice. He, however, considers the decision of the apex court as dark for democracy and justice in Nigeria.
The statement quoted him as saying that he "remains confident that he still has a long and bright political career ahead of him." But in a latest move, Sylva again through his counsel, Chief Robert Clarke (SAN) instituted a fresh suit against INEC praying the court to declare him the winner of the 2011 governorship election, having emerged as the PDP candidate in the contentious January 2011 governorship primaries.
While, ruling on the preliminary objection, Justice Lambo Akanbi noted that the persistent filing of motions before the lower court when such has been ruled upon by the justices of the Supreme Court amounted to judicial rascality. Lambo, while dismissing the suit brought by Sylva explained that he would not be part of a journey in futility.
According to him: "It is an abuse of the court process for the plaintiff (Sylva) to approach this court on a matter already decided by the Supreme Court. I shall not encourage any journey in futility."
Akanbi, who stated that Sylva argument that since he won the January 2011 primary organized by PDP, the party had no right to organize another primary that produced Dickson, as its candidate in November 2011 holds no water, added that matter had outlived its usefulness, as it had extended beyond the timeframe allowed by the Electoral Act.
He also upheld the argument by Dickson that continued filing of motions by the former governor had become a distraction and should be stopped. Sunday Mirror gathered that Sylva is not done with his pursuit of justice as shortly after the judgment, Clarke refused to comment and sources close to Sylva said the counsel had been instructed to get a copy of the judgment to prepare the ground for appeal.
Sylva is maintaining that he is still the authentic candidate of the PDP for the election, even as he succeeded in persuading a five-man panel of Justices of the apex court to invoke section 22 of the Supreme Court Act with a view to ascertaining the legal veracity of his claim both before the court and a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
Determined to void Dickson's mandate, Sylva through his lead counsel, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, argued that "Section 32(1) of the Electoral Act states that, 'every political party shall not later than 60 days before the date appointed for a general election under the provisions of this Act, submit to the Commission in the prescribed forms, the list of the candidates the party proposes to sponsor at the elections."
According to him, under the amended Electoral Act, a party has no right to withdraw the name of a candidate it has submitted to INEC, except the can
didate withdraws or dies.
Nevertheless, Dickson has since called the bluff of Sylva, maintaining that he emerged after ward congresses were held the party and a valid primary election conducted with a view to selecting its flagbearer for the poll.
National Mirror