A FEDERAL High Court in Abuja has disqualified the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timipre Sylva, from participating in the Bayelsa State Governorship Election.
In a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/821/2023, Demesuoyefa Kolomo, a member of the All Progressives Congress in the state, had asked the court to determine Sylva’s eligibility for the election, given his past terms as governor of Bayelsa from May 29, 2007, to April 15, 2008, and from May 27, 2008, to January 27, 2012.
But, in his affidavit, Sylva stated he was elected once as the state’s governor, disputing the 2007 election’s occurrence. While citing an April 2008 court of appeal ruling that nullified the 2007 election, the former minister also emphasised his constitutional and legal right to contest the most-coveted seat in the state.
However, delivering judgment on Monday, October 9, the presiding judge, Donatus Okorowo, held that Sylva, having been sworn in twice and ruled for five years as governor, would breach the 1999 constitution if allowed to contest again.
Okorowo also said Sylva, who served as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, would spend more than eight years in office if allowed to participate in the election and eventually win.
Referring to the Supreme Court case of Marwa vs Nyako, Okorowo highlighted that the drafters of the nation’s constitution explicitly stipulated that a person should not be elected governor more than twice.
He further mentioned that all parties involved in the case acknowledged that Sylva had been elected into office twice.
Okorowo stated that the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Marwa vs Nyako that nobody could expand the constitution or its scope. So, if Sylva could contest the next election, any citizen could contest for a political office as many times as they wish.
The ICIR reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will conduct a governorship election in Bayelsa on November 11, 2023.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M