The Bayelsa Elders Forum; within the All Progressives Congress (APC) has kicked against the judgement of the Federal High Court disqualifying the party’s Governorship Candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, ahead of the November 11 election.
The elders in a statement issued on Wednesday in Yenagoa by its Chairman, Chief Michael Adomokeme, noted that the presiding judge erred in point of law in his pronouncement, which was based on the claims that Sylva had taken the oaths of office as a governor twice and was no longer qualified to vie for the governorship ticket of his party.
Adomekeme said: “In as much as we respect the court as the bastion of hope in our democracy, we are constrained to point out that our governorship candidate had only taken one oath of office known to the law as a court of competent jurisdiction had nullified the first one referred to by the judge.
“Yes, we recall that in 2007, Sylva’s first term election was annulled by the court, which also nullified his oath to be sworn in as the governor. The election having been declared null and void, ultra vires and of no effect, was conducted again in 2008, which he also won.
“The annulment of the first poll and nullification of that oath by the court had rendered both the election and the oath of office non-existent. The first oath never existed because, in the eyes of the law, you can build something on nothing. Only the oath taken in 2008 is recognized by the law and stands as the only oath so far taken by our candidate”.
Adomekeme insisted that judges remained imperfect humans capable of making mistakes in their pronouncements adding that such recognition is the reason why the hierarchy of courts exists in the judicial system.
He said: “We believe that the court of appeal will do justice to this matter. We commend our party’s legal team for swiftly appealing the judgement and applying for a state of execution of the verdict, which we believe is a miscarriage of justice.
“We believe that the court would not allow the 2019 scenario to repeat itself where against the will of the people, an unpopular candidate was foisted on our people.
“Sylva is qualified to contest this election in the spirit and letters of the law because when a court invalidates a situation it remains invalidated, viewed as dead and will no longer have any effect or application in the future. The people of Bayelsa must be allowed to vote for their preferred candidates without mischievously narrowing their chances”.
Describing the development as a temporary setback, Adomekeme advised the Peoples Democratic Party and its Candidate Gov Douye Diri to stop their wishful thinking of relying on the courts to remain in power and prepare for the election.
“We know they are fretting and that is why they are mischievously shopping for help in courts. This one has failed because it will not stand. Governor Douye Diri must go and face his defeat at the poll because the people’s will must stand”, the statement read in part.
The APC elders urged the teeming APC members, residents of Bayelsa and other stakeholders not to be discouraged by the judgement, which they described as the motive behind it.
“Don’t be discouraged. The 2019 scenario will not happen again. Their major motive was to dampen your zeal with his first judgement because they knew it would be thrown out at appeal. We urge you to remain resolute and united because a better Bayelsa beckons”, he said.