Bayelsa Election: The court will rule on the lawsuit seeking Sylva’s disqualification

A Federal High Court in Abuja postponed till Tuesday the decision in a case seeking to disqualify Mr. Timipre Sylva from running in the Bayelsa governorship election on November 11.

However, Justice Inyang Ekwo’s absence prevented the case from continuing, which was the top cause on the day’s cause list.

As a result, the court set the judgement date for September 26.

According to OBASANJO NEWS24, Justice Ekwo set today for the verdict on July 6.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for governor of Bayelsa, Mrs. Ogbomade Johnson, filed the lawsuit, with the filing number FHC/ABJ/CS/575/2023, against Sylva, the recently-retired Minister of State for Petroleum.

According to OBASANJO NEWS24, Mrs. Johnson sued the APC, INEC, and Sylva as the first, second, and third respondents in a lawsuit dated April 24 but filed on April 27.

She requested a mandatory injunction from the court to compel INEC to remove the names of APC and Sylva off the lists of political parties and candidates for the November election.

The disgruntled candidate also requested a perpetual injunction barring Sylva from misrepresenting himself as the APC’s candidate for governor of Bayelsa.

After demanding and receiving the sum of N10 million from her along with the other five aspirants, she sought a declaration that the APC was obligated by contract to start and finish the primary election in Bayelsa in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the regulations and guidelines of the political party.

Johnson also requested a declaration that the APC had no candidate to field for the election as a result of the conduct of the party’s primary election on April 14 being in violation of the Electoral Act of 2022, party rules, and regulations.

As candidates for the April 14 primaries, the APC has approved Mrs. Johnson, Sylva, Joshua Maciver, Festus Daumiebi, Mrs. Maureen Ongoebi, and David Lyon.

Sylva was reported to have received 52, 061 votes in the primary election held in 102 of the 105 wards of the eight local governments in the state; Maciver received 2, 078; Johnson received 584; Daumiebi received 557; Ongoebi received 1, 277; and Lyon received 1, 584.

The former minister requested that the court dismiss the lawsuit in a counter affidavit, which Sylva testified to.

Contrary to Johnson’s testimony, he asserted that he was wholly qualified to run for election as governor of Bayelsa and was not affected by any disqualifying circumstances that would have prevented him from running.

He asserted that he had only ever been the governor of Bayelsa once.

On April 14, according to Sylva, he and five other candidates, including Johnson, ran for the APC primary.

He said that after votes were counted from 102 out of 105 wards in the eight local government areas, where party members cast ballots in a direct primary in compliance with election rules, the APC’s constitution, and the Electoral Act of 2022, he was chosen as the party’s candidate.

Contrary to Johnson’s claim, he claimed that the primary was held, the results of which showed he received the majority of the votes were accepted, and he received congratulations from important APC stakeholders in the state, showing that his victory reflected the wishes of the party’s members.

Additionally, the APC requested that the court reject the lawsuit in their counter affidavit, which was testified to by Dr. Stanley Ugboaja, the chief of staff to the deputy national organising secretary.

The party maintained that Johnson was mistaken when he claimed that Sylva’s candidature for a second term in office was opposed by the Supreme Court’s decision rendered on January 27, 2012, in regard to the consolidated appeal.

It claimed that the direct primary election was conducted by its national organisation in accordance with the terms of the Electoral Act and its constitution as well as the rules for conducting such elections.

The APC claimed that INEC observed the election and claimed that the electoral umpire released a report regarding the primaries.

“An appeal was filed with the Appeals Committee of the Ist defendant about the outcome of the aforementioned primaries.

“The Appeal Committee dismissed the aforementioned appeal as meritless. The Appeal Committee’s report is attached as Exhibit F and is a copy of it.

The complainant was asked to give a list of her agents in each of the 105 electoral wards in Bayelsa State in a letter dated April 13, 2023, but she refused.

She didn’t even bother to cast a ballot in her ward. The party informed the court, “A copy of the aforementioned letter is attached herewith and is designated Exhibit G.