The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has deleted the names of Timipre Sylva and his running mate, Joshua Maciver, of the All Progressives Congress, APC from the list of candidates for the forthcoming Bayelsa State gubernatorial election.
INEC had on Tuesday released the amended lists of candidates for the Bayelsa and Imo States governorship elections and uploaded the same on the commission’s website.
The list was also signed by the Secretary to the Commission, Rose Oriaran-Anthony.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the column for the names of the APC candidate and his running mate was left blank with “court order” remarks.
The Secretary, Oriaran-Anthony, in the amended document, explained that the commission’s action was in obedience to court orders on the lists served on the commission.
She stated that the commission published the final list of candidates for the 2023 Bayelsa State Governorship Election on June 9 following the provision of Section 32 of the Electoral Act, 2022, and the timetable and schedule of activities for the election.
However, she noted that the commission was served with a court order regarding the nomination of the APC candidate for the Bayelsa State governorship election.
She also noted that by virtue of the provision of Section 287 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the commission is bound to enforce the orders of the court on the nomination of candidates by political parties in the state.
You will recall that the Federal High Court, Abuja, on October 10, disqualified Sylva from participating in the state governorship election.
The court ruled that Sylva, having been sworn in twice and ruled for five years as the Bayelsa State governor, 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 won and was sworn in, he would spend more than eight years in office as state governor.
