Bayelsa guber: APC reacts as court sacks Timipre Sylva

<p>The All Progressives Congress (APC) says it plans to challenge Monday’s disqualification of its Bayelsa governorship candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, from the November 11 poll.</p>, <p>DAILY POST had reported that Justice Donatus Okorowo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in a judgement delivered on Monday, in the governorship election.</p>, <p>Okorowo ruled that 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.</p>, <p>Mr Perry Tukuwei, the Director, Media and Publicity APC Bayelsa Gubernatorial Campaign Council, said this in a statement on Tuesday in Yenagoa.</p>, <p>“The party has briefed its lawyers to appeal the judgement, and it is confident that the Court of Appeal will overturn the judgement of the Federal High Court.</p>, <p>“This reassurance is in reaction to a judgement which has the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate written all over it by a Federal High Court in Abuja in an already failed bid to dash the hopes of Bayelsa people, to have their preferred candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, as the next helmsman at Creek Haven by Feb. 14, 2024.</p>, <p>“Sections 29 and 84 of the 2022 Electoral Act state that only persons who contested primaries of a political party that has the locus standi to file a pre-election matter to challenge the qualification of the party’s candidate in any election hence the suit filed by one Chief Demesuoyefa Kolomo who is not a member of the APC and didn’t contest our party’s governorship primaries do not have the locus standi to sue in the matter.</p>, <p>“Section 285 of the 1999 Nigerian constitution enjoins any aggrieved party to file election matter within 14 days of the occurrence of the event, but this case was filed on the 13th of June 2023 whereas INEC published the names of the governorship candidates for Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi on May 12,’’ Tukuwei said.</p>, <p>He added: ’’Thus, the case was filed outside the constitutional prescribed 14 days, thereby maki