The Federal High Court in Abuja has disqualified the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Timipre Sylva, from contesting the November 11 election in Bayelsa State.
The ruling was delivered on Monday by Justice Donatus Okorowo.
Okorowo 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 stated that Sylva was not qualified to run in the forthcoming November poll because he would have spent more than eight years in office as governor of the state if he wins and is sworn in.
While citing the case of Marwa vs Nyako at the Supreme Court, Okorowo maintained 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.
According to the judge, the Supreme Court has also ruled in the case of Marwa vs Nyako that nobody can expand the constitution or its scope.
It held that if Sylva was allowed to contest the next election, it meant a person could contest as many times as he wanted.
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
