More trouble looms for the defeated candidate of the All Progressives
Congress (APC) in the December 5, 2015 and January 9, 2016 Governorship
election in Bayelsa State,
Chief Timipre Sylva as Governor Henry SeriakeDickson initiates legal
fireworks to disqualify Sylva from ever contesting governorship election.
After losing the last election, Sylva who had been governor of the state
between May, 2007 and February, 2012 approached the Bayelsa State Election
Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja seeking to be declared winner but lost
his bid on all grounds. Rather, the tribunal upheld the election of
Dickson but Sylva, to the disappointment of analysts appealed the
judgement.
But Dickson who expressed dissatisfaction with the tribunal for refusing
to bar Sylva from contesting governorship election having taken
governorship oath of office twice, has cross appealed the judgement of the
tribunal in which he won.
In a cross appeal filed on Monday, August 15, Dickson’s lead counsel, Tayo
Oyetibo contended that by virtue of section 182(1)b of the 1999
Constitution, Sylva having been elected governor of Bayelsa State on two
previous occasions is neither qualified to contest election into that
office again or present any petition challenging Dickson’s victory at the
polls.
Section 182(1) b of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria states: “No person shall be qualified for election to the office
of Governor of a state if … he has been elected to such office at any two
previous elections.’’
Sylva, it will be recalled contested the governorship election in the
state on 14th April, 2007, won and was sworn in on May 29, 2007. Luck ran
out of him on 15th April, 2008 when the Court of Appeal nullified his
election on grounds that it was fraught with irregularities and directed
him to hand over to the Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly.
Consequent upon the annulment, a new election was conducted by the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on 24th May, 2008 in
which Sylva was returned as elected. Consequently, Sylva took another oath
ofallegiance and oath of office on May 29, 2008 and exercised the powers
of a governor until February 14, 2012 when Governor Dickson was sworn in.
While quoting copiously from decided Supreme Court cases such as Brig.
Gen. Muhammed Buba Marwa versus ADM. Murtala Nyako, Dickson affirmed that
Sylva was not qualified to challenge his re-election at the tribunal and
urged the Appeal Court to strike out the petition and formally disqualify
Sylva from ever running for governorship having been sworn in twice as
governor.
Special Adviser to Governor Dickson on Media Relations, Mr. Francis Agbo
said having woefully lost the election in seven out of eight local
government areas in the state in spite of the manipulation and
intimidation of voters by the federal agencies, Sylva should have
congratulated Governor Dickson and joined hands with the governor to
restore the lost glory of the state and not to write a petition that is
atbest ‘‘watery, bare in content and was as usual,dead on arrival.’’ While
stressing that Sylva has a bad case having been totally rejected by the
people, a decision which the tribunal has upheld, his appeal was an
unnecessary distraction but the governor will never be distracted from
serving his people because according to him, his boss has his hands on the
plough and the Bible says a man who has his hands on the plough will never
look back.
Agbo accused Sylva and his APC friends in high places of terrorizing the
Nigerian Judiciaryto make Sylva governor through the backdoor. While
advising Sylva to stop dragging the judiciary in the mud, the governor’s
image maker urges the Judiciary not to be blackmailed or intimidated.