Court Rejects Bid to Disqualify Timipire Sylva from Bayelsa Governorship Election

In a recent legal development, a Federal High Court in Abuja has made a significant ruling regarding the eligibility of former Petroleum Resources Minister, Timipire Sylva, to contest the upcoming governorship election in Bayelsa State. The court presided over by Justice Inyang Ekwo, dismissed a lawsuit seeking Sylva’s disqualification, citing a lack of merit in the case.

The plaintiff, Hon Isikima Johnson, had initiated legal proceedings against the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Timipire Sylva himself. Johnson’s primary argument was that Sylva should be disqualified from participating in the November governorship election in Bayelsa State for two reasons.

First, Johnson contended that Sylva had already held the position of governor twice and had taken both the oath of office and the oath of allegiance twice. Second, he alleged that the primary election that led to Sylva’s selection as the APC candidate was illegal and contrary to the party’s guidelines.

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However, Justice Ekwo carefully considered the plaintiff’s claims and found that they were not substantiated with sufficient evidence to warrant Sylva’s disqualification from the gubernatorial race. The judge highlighted several key points in his ruling.

Firstly, he noted that the plaintiff failed to prove that the APC had conducted an unlawful primary election that produced Sylva as its candidate. In fact, according to Justice Ekwo, INEC’s independent report confirmed that a valid primary election had been conducted by the APC, in compliance with legal requirements.

Secondly, the judge dismissed the police reports presented by the plaintiff, which claimed that no primary election had taken place within the APC. He regarded these reports as lacking in legal mandate and criticized them for not being on official police letterhead, questioning their authenticity. Justice Ekwo clarified that the primary duty of the police during primary elections is to provide security for election materials and voters, not to make determinations on the legitimacy of the process.

Furthermore, the court ruled against the lawsuit on the grounds that it had not been filed within the required 14-day timeframe from the occurrence of the subject matter. Consequently, the case was deemed an academic matter, and the court declined to engage in it.

In his final judgment, Justice Ekwo stated, “In all, I find the case of the plaintiff to be weak, having not been established by a preponderance of evidence as required by law. The case of the plaintiff has no legs to stand upon in the face of the law.”

With this verdict, Timipire Sylva remains eligible to participate in the November governorship election in Bayelsa State.

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