The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate and former Petroleum Minister, Chief Timipre Sylva, has been disqualified from contesting the November 11, 2023 election in Bayelsa State.
Justice Donatus Okorowo of a Federal High Court, Abuja, gave the ruling on Monday.
Okorowo said Sylva, having taken oath of office twice as governor of the state and ruled for five years, would be breaching the 1999 Constitution (as amended) if allowed to contest again.
The judge held that Sylva was not qualified to run in the forthcoming poll because he would have spent more than eight years in office as governor if he wins and is sworn in.
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.
The Supreme Court’s ruling in the case had declared that nobody can expand the Constitution or its scope.
If Sylva is allowed to contest the next election, it means a person could contest as many times as he wants, the judge said.
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