In Abuja, a Federal High Court has ruled to disqualify Timipre Sylva, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the Bayelsa State Governorship Election. This decision followed a lawsuit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/821/2023, filed by a member of the All Progressives Congress in the state, Demesuoyefa Kolomo.
The lawsuit sought to ascertain whether Sylva was eligible to participate in the election, considering his previous tenures as governor of Bayelsa from May 29, 2007, to April 15, 2008, and again from May 27, 2008, to January 27, 2012.
In a judgment delivered on Monday night, Justice Donatus Okorowo ruled that allowing Sylva to contest again would contravene the provisions of the 1999 constitution, as he had been sworn in twice and served as a governor of the state for five years.
The judge pointed out that Sylva would exceed the constitutional limit of eight years in office if he were to participate in the election and subsequently win. Citing the precedent of Marwa vs. Nyako at the Supreme Court, Justice Okorowo emphasized that the framers of the constitution explicitly stated that no individual should run for the position of governor more than twice.
He further noted that both parties in the lawsuit acknowledged that Sylva had been elected to office twice, and the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Marwa vs. Nyako affirmed that the constitution’s boundaries could not be expanded. Allowing Sylva to contest the upcoming election would set a precedent that anyone could run for office as many times as they desired.
