The Bayelsa State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has announced that it will appeal the Federal High Court judgment that disqualified its candidate Chief Timipre Sylva, from the Nov. 11 poll.
Mr. Perry Tukuwei, the Media and Publicity Director of the APC Bayelsa Gubernatorial Campaign Council, announced in a statement released on Tuesday in Yenagoa.
“The party has briefed its lawyers to appeal the judgment and it is confident that the Court of Appeal will overturn the judgment of the Federal High Court.”
“This reassurance is in reaction to a judgment which has the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate written all over it by a Federal High Court in Abuja in an already failed bid to dash the hopes of Bayelsa people to have their preferred candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva as the next helmsman at Creek Haven by Feb. 14, 2024.”
“Sections 29 and 84 of the 2022 Electoral Act state that only persons who contested primaries of a political party that has the locus standi to file a pre-election matter to challenge the qualification of the party’s candidate in any election hence the suit filed by one Chief Demesuoyefa Kolomo who is not a member of the APC and didn’t contest our party’s governorship primaries do not have the locus standing to sue in the matter.”
“Section 285 of the 1999 Nigerian constitution enjoins any aggrieved party to file an election matter within 14 days of the occurrence of the event but this case was filed on the 13th of June 2023 whereas INEC published the names of the governorship candidates for Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi on May 12,’’ Tukuwei said.
He added: ’’Thus, the case was filed outside the constitutional prescribed 14 days thereby making the case statute barred.”
“It is surprising to the party and Bayelsa people that the court ignored the fact that the plaintiff lacked the locus standing to sue and went ahead to give judgment in their favor.”
He stated that the lawsuit went against a directive from the Supreme Court, which mandated that all pre-election issues should be heard in the state where party primaries took place.
“To perfect their sinister act, the case was filed in Abuja. Is Abuja Bayelsa?
“Subsequently, the Bayelsa APC can smell the coffee and sinister move by Gov. Douye Diri to go through the back door which is his usual practice having realised that our governorship candidate is coasting home to victory already following unrivaled acceptance across the state.”
“Our dear people of Bayelsa, fear not! This clandestine strategy by the PDP should not deter the resolve to elect Sylva as the next Governor of Bayelsa, we will win,” he stated.
Justice Donatus Okorowo of the Federal High Court in Abuja made a decision that disqualified on Monday, Sylva from participating in the upcoming governorship election on November 11th.
Justice Okorowo’s ruling was based on the argument that Sylva, having been inaugurated as governor twice and having served for a total of five years in that role in Bayelsa, would violate the 1999 Constitution as amended if permitted to run for the position again.