With less than 10 days to the Bayelsa State governorship election, a socio-political organisation, Truth Movement of Nigeria, on Thursday stated that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Mr. Timipre Sylva, was not qualified to contest, having been elected twice.
According to the TMN, fielding Sylva for the December 5 governorship election is unconstitutional and implies seeking election for the third time as the governor of Bayelsa State.
But when contacted, the Director of Publicity, Sylva Campaign Organisation, Mr. Nathan Egba, dismissed the claim and told our correspondent that Sylva had only stood for election once.
The organisation relied on Section 182 (1) (b) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which stipulates that, “No person shall be qualified for election into the office of governor of a state if he has been elected to such office at any two previous elections.”
The Deputy National Chairman of TMN (South-South zone), Chief Tam Jaja, and its Deputy National Chairman (South-East zone), Chief Chris Udensi, who made the observation at a press briefing in Abuja, said the issue had been settled by the Supreme Court in the case of Marwa vs Nyako.
The apex court had held that, “A person elected following a rerun election cannot be said to have been ‘first elected as governor under this constitution’, except he was not a winner of the earlier election or first election.”
The movement said that in this case, Sylva won both the first election that was nullified as well as the rerun election, thereby being elected twice as governor of Bayelsa State.
The TMN said, “On the state of the law as contained in the constitution and interpreted by the Supreme Court, Chief Timipre Sylva has been elected twice as the governor of Bayelsa State and is therefore not qualified to contest the said election as the candidate of the APC.
“Otherwise, he would be seeking to serve as the governor of Bayelsa State for more than the maximum period of eight years allowed by the constitution. The APC does not, therefore, have a qualified candidate in the said forthcoming governorship elections.
“Sylva was one of the parties to that case in the Supreme Court; it was that case which terminated his tenure as the governor of Bayelsa State. He is thus bound by the said decision of the Supreme Court in that case especially as he was the one who won the nullified election and the subsequent rerun election.
“The Supreme Court therefore clearly recognised the earlier nullified election of Timipre Sylva. Thus, his success in the rerun election was obviously his second election and incidentally the above quoted provision of Section 182 (1) (b) of the constitution has barred him from contesting again, having been previously elected twice.”
This page has been viewed 256 times
