Abigail ErhiagbojeThe All Progressives Congress (APC) has appealed to its members and supporters in Bayelsa State to remain calm amidst the delisting of its Governorship candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, by the Independent National Electoral Commission and allow the judicial process to take its full course.
The APC made the call in a statement released on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, through its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka. The statement was in reaction to the list of gubernatorial candidates in the Bayelsa election released recently by INEC which did not include the name of Chief Timipre Sylvia.
The omission of Sylva’s name was due to a Supreme Court judgment against his nomination for the election slated to take place on 11 November 2.
Sylva, who has filed an appeal against the ruling, warned that excluding him from participating in the election has dire consequences for democracy in the country.
The statement by Morka said: “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.”
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According to the party, the action by INEC could have been prompted by the judgment the High Court on October 9, 2023, disqualifying their candidate from participating in the coming Bayelsa governorship election.
After recognizing the extreme urgency of the matter, the Court of Appeal had given an order that the hearing of the matter be accelerated. Therefore, the final hearing of the matter is slated for Friday, October 27, 2023. The APC also stated that INEC was a party in the matter and has been given all the necessary filings and orders concerning the matter.
Expressing their opinion on the delisting of their candidate by INEC without allowing the court to decide the final judgment of the matter, the party said “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.”
Also, the APC disclosed that INEC’s removal of their candidate from the list of governorship contestants in Bayelsa would foist a helpless situation in the appellate court, their candidate, and even the party if their appeal succeeds. It therefore urged INEC to withdraw its amendment of the Bayelsa governorship list under reference in the interest of fairness.
The ruling party urged “the good people of Bayelsa State, especially our teeming members and supporters, to remain calm while the judicial process runs its full course,” because they fully believe that their candidate would emerge victorious both in the court and at the polls.
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