The Court of Appeal, Abuja has fixed Friday, October 27 to hear an appeal brought by Bayelsa State Chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) challenging the disqualification of the party’s gubernatorial candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, in November 11 governorship election.
This was disclosed by the Director, Directorate of Legal Services of Chief Timipre Sylva/Joshua Maciver Campaign Organization, Stanley Damabide, during a phone interview on Wednesday .
Recall that a Federal High Court in Abuja recently made pronouncement that APC’s governorship candidate in the forthcoming Bayelsa governorship election, Chief Timipre Sylva, was not qualified to contest the forthcoming governorship election.
Speaking in the interview, Director of the Directorate of Legal Services, Damabide, said: “You are aware that there was a court pronouncement disqualifying him (Chief Sylva). That court order is now a subject of appeal. Time has been abridged for the hearing of the appeal. The appeal will be heard on Friday. What INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) did is to say pending the reversal of the court order, this is the current situation”.
Damabide however said that the situation does not create state of hopelessness for the APC or its candidate in the forthcoming governorship election and urged people not to paint a grim picture over the outcome of the appeal saying that the court will very likely reverse the pronouncement made by the Federal High Court.
The Director of Legal Services of the campaign organization said: “The ladder must be climbed and it must also be respected. So what I expect people to look at is, ‘yes, this is what is happening now but an ongoing process that will very likely reverse what is happening now is building’ and we should wait for its outcome”.
He recalled that former Governor Seriake Dickson also had his name removed as governorship candidate in 2011 but the name was restored following an order given by Justice Olotu.
He however said that the current situation will be a propaganda weapon for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the State.
He said although the situation could dampen the support base of the All Progressives Congress and its governorship candidate, it is not the end of the story adding that situations like this that come very close to date of an election are not healthy for democracy saying INEC had also complained about the situation.
“Even when that (pronouncement) is reversed, the damage that was expected to be done would have been done and so that’s why we are angry”, he said.
He said that campaigns by the APC are still going on.
Meanwhile, the State Chairman of the party, Dr. Dennis Otiotio, has called on members of the public and supporters of the party not to be despaired over the pronouncement by the Federal High Court.
He made the call while addressing newsmen in Yenagoa, the state capital.
According to him, the plaintiff in the suit filed the matter out of time, hence the matter is statute barred, adding that the plaintiff was not a participant in the APC’s primary therefore lacks the locus standi to institute the suit.
Otiotio further noted that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is jittery, hence has resorted to all legal means to frustrate the APC sensing its imminent defeat at the November 11 poll, stressing that all legal avenues are being used to ensure that the party’s candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, is on the ballot.
About Author
