The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Tuesday, reinstated Chief Timipre Sylva as the valid candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the upcoming Bayelsa state governorship election scheduled for November 11.
The unanimous decision by a three-member panel of Justices set aside the judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had previously disqualified Sylva from participating in the gubernatorial poll.
The Court of Appeal determined that the litigant, Mr. Demesuoyefa Kolomo, who initiated the suit leading to Sylva’s disqualification, lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to do so.
As a result, the appellate court not only overturned the high court’s verdict but also imposed a N1 million cost against the respondent, Kolomo.
The panel equally awarded the sum of N1 million in favour of Sylva in the appeal marked: CA/ABJ/CV/1061/2023 between Sylva vs. Kolomo and two others.
The high court had in a judgement it delivered on October 9, declared that Sylva who was Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, was not eligible to participate in the gubernatorial contest having already spent five years in office as governor of the state.
The court emphasized that the 1999 Constitution, as amended, stipulates a maximum tenure of eight years for a governor. Consequently, if Sylva were to contest and win the upcoming election, he would exceed the constitutional limit by serving a total of nine years in office.
The court thereby, directed the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to remove his name from the list of candidates for the election.
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