Timipre Sylva, the APC candidate for governor of Bayelsa State, has managed to avoid losing a second legal battle.
Friday’s ruling by the Court of Appeal in Abuja gave Sylva permission to run in Saturday’s Bayelsa State gubernatorial election.
In an attempt to remove Sylva from the race, the court dismissed the lawsuit.
Judge Binta Zubar ruled that the litigation was unjustified and that the appellant had acted in bad faith when she filed the appeal against Sylva and two other parties on behalf of Hon. Isikima Ogbomade Johnson.
The Court concurred with Senior Advocate of Nigeria James Ogwu Onoja (SAN) that Sylva cannot be found legally culpable for taking the oath of office twice, as the first instance was declared unconstitutional by competent courts.
Justices Zubar also rejected the accusations made against the APC in the appeal designated CA/ABJ/CV/1052/2023, stating that the party’s primary election on April 14, 2023, which resulted in Sylva being chosen as the flagbearer, was conducted illegally.
The unanimous ruling supported Onoja’s claims that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the African Progressive Party (APC) presented overwhelming evidence demonstrating that all required legal procedures were followed in the primary election’s conduct.
In his brief on behalf of Sylva, Onoja SAN described how the APC decided to have a direct primary to choose the gubernatorial candidate. He also described how an eight local government districts in Bayelsa, consisting of 106 Wards, were the site of the election on April 14 by a five-member Electoral Committee.
The senior attorney also detailed how Sylva received 52,062 votes, placing it first; the appellant received 584 votes, placing it fourth behind Joshua Maciver (2,078 votes), David Perewomini Lyon (1,584), Ongoebi Etebu (1,277 votes), and Daumiebi Festus Sunday (557 votes), who received the fewest votes.
The appellant’s claims that Sylva emerged without a primary election are unfounded, according to the Appeal Court, which cited the uncontested evidence and the monitoring report of INEC, a statutory authority.
“It was clear beyond any doubt that a valid primary election was conducted by APC and monitored by the electoral umpire as required by law,” the judgment said, citing the uncontested independent report of INEC.
Additionally, Justice Zubar ruled that the appellant’s case was statute barred since it was filed as a pre-election matter beyond the legally permitted 14-day period.
Overall, the Court of Appeal maintained the ruling of Justice Inyang Ekwo’s Federal High Court in Abuja, which on September 26 dismissed the lawsuit due to lack of substance and merit.
Johnson brought APC, INEC, and Sylva before the Federal High Court through an originating summons, pleading for an order disqualifying him from the next Bayelsa State governorship election in November.
She had based her complaint against Sylvia on two points: first, that Sylva had twice been elected to the governorship and had taken the oath of office and allegiance; second, that the primary election on April 14 that resulted in Sylva was illegal and unlawful because it was purportedly conducted outside of the APC’s guidelines.
Nonetheless, the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s dismissal of the lawsuit.
