The All Progressive Congress (APC) governorship candidate Timipre Sylva filed a petition with the Bayelsa Governorship Election Tribunal, which is seated in Abuja. Sylva and the APC raised allegations of bias and denial of a fair hearing, and the tribunal chairman has decided to postpone the decision until further notice.
On the Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, Sylva and the APC had approved a vote of no confidence demanding the tribunal’s complete dissolution and reconstitution.
APC and Sylva claimed in a petition to the President of the Court of Appeal that the Tribunal had violated their legal and constitutional right to a fair trial.
APC and its candidate for governor, among others, claimed to have scheduled 234 witnesses; however, they were given a 7-day deadline to call these witnesses.
The petition further stated that although they had consented to call twenty-five witnesses a day, the Tribunal had only permitted them to call eight.
They also state that by denying the petitioners the opportunity to call all of their witnesses while the Tribunal still has three months to convene, the Tribunal’s actions constituted a blatant violation of their right to a fair trial.
Furthermore, APC and Sylva claimed that the Tribunal made multiple written comments and notes in the proceedings records they were able to get, all of which pointed to evidence that the Tribunal had decided to rule in favour of the respondents.
They asserted that the Tribunal had reached judgements and conclusions on the veracity and significance of the polling unit election results they had submitted, as well as had altered the oral evidence of their witnesses in the record of proceedings.
As a result, they asked that the Tribunal be immediately dissolved and replaced with a new one that would hear the case for the remaining three months in an impartial manner.
Justice Adekunle Adeleye, the chairman of the tribunal, told the lawyers representing different parties during Monday’s hearings about a petition that questioned the members’ impartiality and integrity and asked for an extended postponement of the case’s hearing.
Judge Adeleye asked for comments, stating that he was unsure of the specific areas where the APC and Sylva claimed that the Tribunal members had erred.
Both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) provided counsel to the Tribunal, claiming that Sylva had distorted the facts and shown prejudice.
Following a brief exchange of views, they decided to approve APC and Sylva’s plea for an adjournment.
Sylva and his party are contesting PDP Governor Duoye Diri’s reelection.