Timipre Sylva, an All Progressives Congress candidate for governor of Bayelsa State, has been disqualified from running by an Abuja-based Federal High Court.
Demesuoyefa Kolomo, an APC member in the state, asked the court to decide whether Sylva was eligible to run for office in a lawsuit with the case number FHC/ABJ/CS/821/2023 after she held the position of governor of Bayelsa from May 29, 2007 to April 15, 2008, and again from May 27, 2008 to January 27, 2012.
But after being sworn in twice and serving as the state’s governor for five years, Justice Donatus Okorowo determined in a ruling issued on Monday night that enabling Sylva to run again would violate a clause of the 1999 constitution.
In addition, the judge predicted that Sylva would hold office for more than eight years if she were permitted to run for office.
Okorowo referred to the Marwa v. Nyako Supreme Court case when he said that the constitution’s authors intended for no one to be elected governor more than twice.
He further stated that Sylva was elected to office twice by the parties to the lawsuit.
In the Marwa v. Nyako case, the Supreme Court declared that no one could broaden the constitution’s purview, according to Okorowo. Therefore, if Sylva is permitted to run for office in the subsequent election, it follows that anyone may run for office however often they choose.