In preparation for the forthcoming governorship election in Bayelsa State scheduled for November 11, 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially included the name of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Timipre Sylva, in the final list of candidates for the poll.
This development comes in response to an Appeal Court judgment handed down on October 31, 2023, which overturned the initial disqualification of Timipre Sylva as a candidate for the election.
INEC recently published a revised candidate list on its website, designating Timipre Sylva as the APC’s gubernatorial candidate and listing Maciver Joshua as his running mate.
According to INEC, this amendment was necessitated by the Appeal Court’s decision, which set aside the previous ruling that had invalidated Sylva’s candidacy.
Official Statement
In a statement issued by INEC, the commission clarified, “It may be recalled that the final list of candidates for the 2023 Bayelsa State Governorship Election was amended on 16th October, 2023 pursuant to the Order of the Federal High Court in Suit No – FHC/ABJ/CS/821/2023 in respect of the nomination of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 Bayelsa State Governorship Election.”
The statement further noted, “The Court of Appeal in a judgment delivered on 31st October, 2023 in Appeal No – CA/ABJ/CV/1060/2023 set aside the judgment of the lower court cited above. By virtue of the provisions of Section 287 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Commission is bound to enforce the Orders of Court on nomination of candidates by political parties in the state. The list of candidates in respect of the 2023 Bayelsa State Governorship Election is hereby amended in the Amendment No 2 pursuant to the judgment of the Court of Appeal.”
Timipre Sylva, a former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and a former governor of Bayelsa State, is among the 16 contenders vying for the governorship seat, including the incumbent governor, Duoye Diri, representing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
It’s worth noting that a Federal High Court in Abuja had, on October 10, disqualified Sylva from participating in the state governorship election. The court ruled that Sylva, who had served two non-consecutive terms as governor of the state, would violate the 1999 constitution as amended if allowed to contest again. The judge also declared that Sylva was ineligible to run in the November poll as he would exceed the maximum of eight years in office as governor of the state.
However, Sylva promptly appealed the decision, leading to the recent favorable ruling by the Court of Appeal in his favor on Tuesday.
Timipre Sylva previously served as Bayelsa governor from May 2007 to April 2008 and later between May 2008 and January 2012.