Sylva Commends INEC, Heads To Supreme Court

Governor Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State has decided to head to the Supreme Court to battle the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP just as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the list of candidates for the state’s governorship election.

INEC excluded PDP from the list.

Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Doifie Ola, Sylva noted that “INEC has taken the right decision as an impartial umpire by acknowledging and stating clearly that the subject of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the governorship election is validly before a court of law, and that as an institution that respects the rule of law and democracy, it would not do anything to prejudice the final outcome of the matter in court.”

The statement by the CPS says Governor Sylva assures his supporters that he has a good case and believes in due process and the rule of law. As a democrat, he urges his supporters to remain calm and wait for the outcome of the case.

In the run-up to the 19 November 2011 PDP governorship primary in Bayelsa State, the governor filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja challenging his exclusion from the primary by the PDP.

The governor asked the court to uphold his candidature on the basis of the January 2011 primary or, on the contrary, allow him to participate in any primary that will be conducted by his party, PDP.

The judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, consequently ordered PDP to show cause why the governor’s prayers should not be granted, and cautioned that the status quo be maintained.

But in complete disregard for the court processes, the PDP went ahead to conduct the primary, and followed it up by filing an appeal at the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal has since ruled that the High Court has jurisdiction to hear the governor’s suit.

According to the statement, the PDP has now filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, to which Governor Sylva has cross-appealed.

The governor is arguing that the Court of Appeal erred in law when it held that some pronouncements of Justice Kolawole amount to pre-judging the issues before him.

Governor Sylva’s argument at the Supreme Court is that he is the authentic candidate of the PDP for the February 2012 governorship election.

He notes that under the amended Electoral Act, a political party has no right to withdraw the name of a candidate it has submitted to INEC; it is only the candidate, due to resignation or death, that can so do.

Sylva notes that the governorship election in Bayelsa State was postponed, and not cancelled.

Sylva said that the postponement of the governorship poll in Bayelsa State, for the governor, could be likened to the recent postponement of the Adamawa State governorship election from 14 January to 21 January.

“Assuming that this election was postponed for one month or more, will the Adamawa PDP go for another primary to determine the flag-bearer in the rescheduled gubernatorial election?” the governor queried.

The governor is asking the court to invoke section 22 of the Supreme Court Act to determine the case at the Supreme Court so that the matter will not go back to the lower court, and that the matter should be given expeditious hearing and treated on its own merit due to the time limitation.

—Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt