Timipre Sylva, has taken legal action in response to the recent decision by the Federal High Court in Abuja that disqualified him from contesting elections.
He filed a motion on Tuesday asking the court to temporarily halt the execution of the judgement.
Sylva is a two time Governor of Bayelsa state and also a former minister.
Background
The judgement, delivered by Justice Donatus Okorowo, declared Sylva’s candidacy invalid.
The judge cited his previous two terms as governor, which spanned a total of five years in Bayelsa State.
The court held that Sylva’s bid for another gubernatorial term would contravene the 1999 Constitution as amended.
Files a motion for stay
In response to the judgement, Sylva through his lawyer, Ahmed Raji, SAN, filed a motion for a stay of execution of the court’s order.
This motion, dated October 10, 2023, requests that the court temporarily halt the execution of the judgment and order issued on October 9, 2023, pending the outcome of an appeal lodged with the Court of Appeal, Abuja.
Raji also sought an injunction to prevent the respondents from implementing the declaratory and executory orders contained in the judgment.
In the appeal, also dated October 10, 2023, Sylva raised three grounds for his case.
He argued that Justice Okorowo’s decision was erroneous in granting standing to the respondents, who had not participated in the primary election that led to his nomination as the APC’s gubernatorial candidate.
This, he contended, constituted a grave miscarriage of justice.
Furthermore, Sylva claimed that the court failed to properly evaluate his notice of preliminary objection, which questioned the competence of the suit.
He argued that this breach of due process amounted to a violation of his right to a fair hearing, guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution.
Raji, Sylva’s legal counsel, expressed confidence in the appeal’s prospects, stating that the Federal High Court’s judgment had run counter to established legal principles and precedents.
The appeal would be based on three fundamental issues concerning jurisdiction, locus standi, and the evaluation of affidavit evidence.
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Raji emphasized that Justice Okorowo had overstepped jurisdiction by delving into the internal matters of the APC, a non-justiciable cause of action, which, in Sylva’s view, led to a miscarriage of justice.
As of the time of filing this report, no hearing date has been scheduled for the appeal.