Posted by From HENRY CHUKWURAH, Port Harcourt and FEMI FOLARANMI, Yenagoa on
Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva on Tuesday joined the unenviable league of casualties of the controversial 2007 general elections as the Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt quashed his election.
Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva on Tuesday joined the unenviable league of casualties of the controversial 2007 general elections as the Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt quashed his election.
The Action Congress (AC) governorship candidate in the April 14, 2007 election in the state, Chief Ebitimi Angbare, had appealed against the ruling of the state Electoral Tribunal, which upheld the governor's election.
In their unanimous judgment that lasted almost two hours, the five judges of the appeal court held that no governorship election held in Bayelsa State on April 14, last year.
Consequently, the court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh governorship election in the state within three months, beginning from the day of the judgment.
In the interim, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr. Werinipre Seibarugu, is to act as the governor of the oil-rich state.
Delivering the lead judgment, the presiding judge, Justice Saka Ibiyeye, hinged the decision of the court on the failure of the respondents to produce Form EC8A, which, in the opinion of the judges, was 'the foundation" on which other electoral forms rested.
Justice Saka Ibiyeye held, 'the glaring absence of the essential form in an election is fatal.
'Forms EC 8B, EC 8C to EC 8E cannot stand on their own unless predicated on form EC 8A."
The court said that was essential that the form formed part of the evidence of any party who alleged that an election held on the said date.
'The burden to prove that there was an election was on the respondents. The respondents failed, through and through, to prove that the form EC8A formed part of the election held on April 14, 2007 and such failure is fatal."
Insisting that the other issues of alleged falsification of results and votes' snatching were less significant in resolving the matter, the judge held that the appeal of the AC candidate and the party was, 'meritorious and therefore allowed."
The court awarded N30,000 cost against the respondents.
Reaching to the judgment in the court premises, Sylvia's erstwhile deputy, Mr Peremobowei Ebebi, in an interview with journalists, hailed it even as he appeared to have resigned himself to fate.
'The judgment is a very sound one and I commend the judges.
'Even if you are dissatisfied with it, you can only plan how to do it better," he said.
Expectedly, the counsel to Chief Angbare and the AC, Mr D. D. Fiderekumo, said the victory of his clients was expected.
He said: 'What we have seen today is a confirmation of what happened on April 14, 2007.
'It is a confirmation of what we have been fighting for one year now. The people of Bayelsa State should be allowed to choose their leaders.
'God, today, has given us the opportunity to do what we ought to do. It is a vindication that the judiciary is alive."
In his reaction, the ousted governor declared that he was waiting for God's own judgment.
According to him, he has reservations about the judgment, adding, however, that he had accepted it in good faith.
His words: 'I will not say this is the best judgment I have seen in the world, but of course, in a country where the judiciary is trying to assert itself, we should expect all these to happen.
'I and my deputy have accepted the judgment in good faith. Men have done their own job but now I wait for the Lord's judgment.
'The Bayelsa people elected us freely and the campaign would show that we did more work than AC. AC did not make any input. In fact, Angbare was not a candidate of AC until few days to the election. This has happened and I would not challenge the verdict. We accepted it and thank Bayelsans who stood by us in spite of all odds".
Sylva maintained that in the eight months he has spent in office, he has shown Bayelsans that it is possible to make a difference, boasting that he would come back to continue his work.
He said: 'They have seen that it is possible to make a change and we would come back here and represent ourselves and we would be judged by Bayelsans.
'I pray that you would continue to stand by us and it is your prayers that would make us strong.
'Bayelsans should remain clam and our supporters should be calm and go about their normal duties because they have a chance to support us again."
Meanwhile, there was tension in Bayelsa on Tuesday afternoon after the Court of Appeal nullified Sylva's election.
Soldiers mounted sentry at the Government House, Yenagoa as well as patrolled major streets to forestall violence.
At the Government House, which used to be a beehive of activities, there was minimal vehicular movement, as most political appointees had gone to Port Harcourt for the judgment.
Some government functionaries were, however, seen discussing the judgment, especially their fate in the light of the order that the Speaker of the House of Assembly should be sworn-in as governor.
In his reaction, Angbare hailed the court ruling, saying it was a victory for democracy and the people of Bayelsa State.
According to him, Bayelsans must congratulate the judiciary for standing up for justice by nullifying what INEC called elections on April 14.
The AC in a reaction from its secretary, Mr. Ebikibina Miriki, said the judiciary had demonstrated that it could be relied upon to correct injustice inflicted on the people by the powers that be.
He said the court's ruling was a vindication of what most Bayelsans already knew, that there was no election for Sylva to claim any mandate from the people.
The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), in its reaction, also described the ruling as victory for Bayelsans.
Its chairman, Mr. Collins Cocodia, said the party was mobilizing its members to come out and rejoice on the favourable judgment given to the people of Bayelsa State.
Cocodia pointed out that Bayelsans were already tired of the government of Sylva and God had used the judiciary to bring sanity to the state.
He, however, maintained that the decision to swear-in the Speaker Seibarugu as the acting governor was not acceptable as he had some allegations leveled against him by his colleagues in the House of Assembly. He said that Seibarugu as acting governor would be a disaster for the state.
President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Prof. Kimse Okoko, said the rule of law had taken its course and pleaded for calm among Bayelsans.
'I am a firm believer in the rule of law and it has taken its course. I want to appeal to Bayelsans to remain calm and allow rule of law to prevail," he said.
The Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), through its secretary, Mr. Alagoa Morris, noted that the judgment had returned the dignity of Bayelsans.
According to him, what happened on April 14, 2007 was a fraud and a rape on democracy, but which the Court of Appeal had reversed.