Bayelsa guber: Delisting Sylva from candidate’s list is premature, APC tells INEC

The All Progressives Congress (APC), has described the delisting of its candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, in the November 11 governorship election in Bayelsa State by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as premature and preempting the outcome of the appeal court ruling.

The party said this in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka on Wednesday night.

Recall that the Federal High Court in Abuja on the 9th of October, disqualified Chief Timipre Sylva as Candidate of the APC.

Sylva approached the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgment. The hearing was set down for 27th October 2023.

But in the amended list of candidates released by INEC and posted on their website, the commission removed Sylva’s name and his running mate, Joshua Maciver.

However, in their reaction, the APC said INEC’s hasty decision on removing its candidate’s name from the list of contestants in the Bayelsa election is capable of influencing the ruling of the appellate court.

The statement read, “The attention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been drawn to the updated list of gubernatorial candidates for the November 11 governorship election in Bayelsa State by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which excluded the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate’s name, Chief Timipre Sylva.

“This action by INEC may not be unconnected with the High Court judgment of October 9, 2023 which disqualified Chief Timipre Sylva as Candidate of our Party.

“Our Candidate and Party promptly appealed that judgment and brought other processes seeking stay of the judgment’s execution. Recognizing the extreme urgency of the matter, the Court of Appeal granted an order of accelerated hearing of the matter now fixed for definite hearing on Friday October 27, 2023. INEC is a party in this matter and has been served with all relevant filings and orders in this matter.

“Delisting our Candidate, in the circumstances, as INEC has done, is clearly premature, and preempts the outcome of the valid appeal in the matter. This flies in the face of INEC’s established practice of awaiting the decisions of appellate courts before taking action that may be prejudicial to the interest of the appellants.

“Furthermore, removing our candidate from the list of governorship contestants in Bayelsa would foist a situation of helplessness on the appellate court, the Candidate and our Party should the appeal succeed. We urge INEC to withdraw its amendment under reference in the interest of fairness.

“In the meantime, we appeal to the good people of Bayelsa State, especially our teeming members and supporters, to remain calm while the judicial process runs its full course. We have confidence that our candidate will be victorious both at the Court of Appeal and at the polls”.