A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has disqualified the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress—APC, Chief Timipre Sylva, from contesting the November 11 off cycle election in Bayelsa State.
Justice Donatus Okorowo in a landmark judgement on Monday night ruled that Sylva, having been sworn in twice and ruled for five years as governor of the state, would breach the 1999 constitution as amended if allowed to contest again.
The judge also declared that Sylva was not qualified to run in the November poll because if he wins and is sworn in, he would spend more than eight years in office as governor of the state.
While citing the case of Marwa vs Nyako at the Supreme Court, Okorowo noted that the drafters of the country’s constitution stated that nobody should be voted for as governor more than two times and that the parties to the suit agreed that Sylva was voted into office two times.
He further stated that the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Marwa vs Nyako that nobody can expand the constitution or its scope, stressing that, if Sylva was allowed to contest the next election, it meant a person could contest as many times as he wanted.
