Bayelsa Guber Election: Supreme Court Ruins Sylva’s Bid

SAN FRANCISCO, February 07, (THEWILL) – Former Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva will definitely not be on the ballot in the Bayelsa State Governorship election slated for Saturday, February 11, 2012, as the Supreme Court Tuesday reserved ruling in the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and cross appealed by the embattled politician, seeking to determine which of the party’s Bayelsa State Governorship primary to adopt for the election.
 
The apex court adjourned till April 20, 2012, when it said it would deliver its judgement on the matter.
 
Five Supreme Court Justices led by Justice Mahmud Muhammed unanimously agreed to adjourn after listening to submissions of both lawyers of the PDP and Sylva.
 
Sylva had asked the apex court to uphold the January 2011 governorship primary of the party where he emerged candidate and not the one he was barred from contesting in which Henry Seriake Dickson emerged.
 
But the PDP represented by Tayo Oyetibo (SAN) argued that the courts have no jurisdiction on the matter as it is pure an internal affair of the party. Counsel to Sylva, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) however argued otherwise.
 
Relying on the cases of Bank of the North V Yau [2001] and Onuoha V Okafor [1983] and the unreported case of Senator Yakubu Lado V CPC, Oyetibo urged the court to allow the appeal and hold that the court lacks the jurisdiction to hear the case.
 
“The only reason why Sylva went to court was because the party refused him to participate in the
primary election”, Oyetibo stated.
 
But countering the PDP, Fagbemi urged the justices to ignore Oyetibo’s pleas saying, they are irrelevant to the matter before the court.
 
With the decision of the court to adjourn, Sylva who is presently in South Africa for fear of being detained by security agencies will play no part in the governorship poll.