Abuja Court Disqualifies  Sylva Ahead Nov 11 Bayelsa Guber Poll

With barely four weeks to the November 11, 2023 governorship election in Bayelsa State, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, presided over by Justice Donatus Okorowo, in a judg-ment delivered on Monday, has disqualified the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate in the election, Chief Timipre Sylva.
According to Daniel Alabrah, Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Bayelsa State Governor and member of the Media and Publicity Directorate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship campaign council, Justice Okorowo ruled that Chief Sylva having been sworn in twice and ruled for five years as governor of Bayelsa would breach the 1999 constitution (as amended) if allowed to contest again.
The CPS also noted that the judge, declared that ‘Sylva was not qualified to run in the November poll because if he wins and is sworn in, he would spend more than eight years in office as governor of the state’.
The PDP campaign council further hinted that citing the case of Marwa vs Nyako at the Supreme Court, Justice Okorowo noted that the drafters of the country’s constitution stated that nobody should be voted for as governor more than twice and that the parties to the suit agreed that Sylva was voted into office two times.
This was just as, according to the PDP campaign council, the learned jurist further stated that the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Marwa vs Nyako that nobody can expand the constitution or its scope. So, if Sylva is allowed to contest the next election, it means a person can contest as many times as he wishes.
The  Tide gathered that the case with suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/821/2023 was filed on June 13, 2023 by one Deme Kolomo, a member of the APC.

By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa