The Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, on Monday secured the nod of the Supreme Court to retain his seat after a suit challenging his continued stay in office was dismissed.
The Change Advocacy Party and its candidate, Dr. Imoro Kubor, had gone to court to contest the suitability of Dickson standing for the election, saying the governor was not the flag bearer of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party.
In the judgment on Monday, the Supreme Court held that Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution as amended stated the criteria for standing for election for the position of a governor.
Justice Walter Onoghen, who read the lead judgment, listed the qualifications to be: citizenship of Nigeria by birth, attaining 30 years of age, membership of a political party, duly nominated by a political party and possesses at least secondary school leaving certificate.
The court also stated that the appellants contradicted themselves when they admitted that Dickson won the February 11, 2012 governorship election.
Justice Onoghen said: “Evidence of qualification lies in the declaration of the party and the forwarding of a name to the Independent National Electoral Commission by the said party within a period not later than 60 days to the election.
“INEC received the name of the PDP candidate in the election on December 8, 2011 for an election that is to hold on February 11, 2012.
“This is more than 60 days, which is in the ambit of the law.”
Onoghen said the “publication of name cannot invalidate the candidate’s nomination.
“Once a candidate is nominated and his name forwarded to INEC, his candidacy cannot be substituted unless the person, the candidate, willingly opted out or he died.
“Once it has been established that candidate was nominated by a party and his name forwarded to INEC, it becomes sealed.”
The court therefore threw out the appeal, saying it lacked merit.
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