A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Monday, fixed September 28 to deliver judgment in a suit filed by Chief Demesuoyefa Kolomo, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), praying the court to order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to delete Timipre Sylva’s name from list of candidates contesting the Bayelsa November 11 governorship election.
Justice Donatus Okorowo fixed the date after Prof. Abiodun Amuda-Kannike (SAN), counsel for Kolomo, and Sylva’s lawyer, Babayemi Olaniyan, including that of the APC, Dr Denis Otiotio, adopted their processes and presented their arguments for and against the matter.
Kolomo, a member of the APC, is praying the court to order INEC to delete Sylva’s name from list of candidates contesting the November 11 governorship election.
In the originating summons marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/821/2023 dated and filed June 13, which has Sylva, the immediate-past Minister of State for Petroleum, APC and INEC as 1st to 3rd defendants respectively, Kolomo asked the court to determine whether Sylva is qualified to contest in the election, having occupied the office of governor of Bayelsa May 29, 2007 to April 15, 2008 and May 27, 2008 to January 27, 2012.
In the affidavit attached, Kolomo deposed that besides being an APC member, he was also a registered voter in the state.
He said INEC recently published the names of governorship candidates for the state, including Sylva’s name.
The plaintiff said he was motivated by the need to vindicate Sections 180 (2)(a) and 182(1)b) of the1999 Constitution, the rule of law and to know the applicability of same as it relates to Sylva based on the above facts.
Kolomo also averred that the question raised by the instant suit was a constitutional one and of grave importance to him as a voter and other voters in the state so that they would not vote for someone who was not qualified to contest in the poll and had their votes wasted at the end of the day.
But Sylva, who was the immediate-past Minister of Petroleum, in a counter affidavit, asked the court to dismiss the suit for lacking in merit.
The ex-minister, through his lawyer, Olaniyan, said that he was never elected as the state’s governor on two occasions.
He argued that the Appeal Court in its judgement held that the election that brought Sylva as Bayelsa governor in 2007 was null and void, while directing INEC to conduct a fresh election within 90 days.
The lawyer though admitted that Sylva was a former governor of Bayelsa, he stressed that he had only been elected once as the state’s governor and prayed the court to dismiss the suit.
Corroborating Olaniyan’s argument, Otiotio, who appeared for APC, urged the court to dismiss the suit with substantial cost.
He argued in a preliminary objection that, Kolomo lacked locus standi to institute the suit as he was never an aspirant in the primary election that produced Sylva.
While arguing his case, Amuda-Kannike said contrary to the argument of the counsel, Kolomo had locus, in accordance with the law, to file the suit whether as a pre-election matter or not and argued that all the sections and cases cited by the defence were unrelated with the instant suit.
He said contrary to their argument, the suit was not statute barred, as the final day which the list of candidates was published was also part of their case.
The senior lawyer prayed the court to uphold their argument and dismiss the preliminary objection of the defence.
READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
