The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Tuesday affirmed Timipre Sylva as the validly elected candidate for the All Progressives Congress for the November 11, 2023 governorship election in Bayelsa State.
The three-member panel reached the unanimous decision in a judgment that was delivered on Tuesday in Abuja.
The Judges held that the trial court, which nullified Sylva’s candidature, lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit filed by an APC member, Demesuoyefa Kolomo, having not been an aspirant in the primaries that produced the ex-Minister of State for Petroleum.
The court also awarded the sum of N1 million in favour of the appellant (Sylva) in the first appeal, marked: CA/ABJ/CV/1060/2023, between APC and Kolomo.
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The panel equally awarded the sum of N1 million in favour of Sylva in the appeal, marked: CA/ABJ/CV/1061/2023, between Sylva and Kolomo and two others.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Sylva’s appeals were against the October 9 judgment delivered by Justice Donatus Okorowo of a Federal High Court, Abuja, which disqualified Sylva as candidate for the November 11 election.
Kolomo, who described himself as a registered voter, had, in the suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/821/2023, filed on June 3, prayed the court to delete Sylva’s name from the list of candidates vying for the election, having taken the oath of office twice as governor of the state.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had subsequently removed the name of Sylva from the list of candidates for the election.