The names of Mr. Timipre Sylva and Mr. Joshua Maciver have been omitted from the list of eligible candidates for the Bayelsa State governor election scheduled for November 11 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
INEC’s Secretary, Mrs. Rose Oriarian-Anthony, claimed that the decision was made in adherence to a court order.
It is confirmed that the APC candidate in Bayelsa State’s November election was disqualified by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The decision was made in a lawsuit brought by Demesuoyefa Kolomo, who questioned the former governor of Bayelsa State’s right to run in the off-season elections.
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In his decision, Justice Donatus Okorowo underlined that permitting Sylva to run again would be against the terms of the 1999 Constitution given that he had already been sworn in twice and had held the office of governor for five years.
According to INEC’s explanation in its statement, it initially published the list of candidates for the governor of Bayelsa State election on June 9 in compliance with Section 32 of the Electoral Act of 2022, as amended.
The Commission further confirmed that they had obtained a court order regarding the APC’s candidate candidature for the governorship election in Bayelsa State in 2023 after this publication.
The Commission further stressed that INEC must carry out the court’s directives in compliance with Section 287 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 1999 constitution, as amended.
