APC Calls For Calm As INEC Excludes Sylva From Bayelsa Guber Race  

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has sued for peace among its members following the exclusion of the party’s candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, from the list of candidates for the November 11,2023 Bayelsa State governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

INEC in the updated list of gubernatorial candidates for the November 11 governorship election in Bayelsa State excluded the APC candidate’s name in obedience to the ruling of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

However, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, in a statement released Wednesday night said the action by INEC may not be unconnected with the High Court judgement of October 9 which disqualified Chief Sylva as the party’s candidate.

Morka said both the candidate and the party promptly appealed the judgment and activated other processes seeking stay of the judgment’s execution.

He said recognising the extreme urgency of the matter, the Court of Appeal granted an order of accelerated hearing of the matter now fixed for definite hearing on Friday, October 27.

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According to the APC Spokesperson, INEC is a party in the matter and has been served with all relevant papers and orders.

Morka said delisting the party’s candidate, in the circumstances, as INEC has done, was clearly premature, and preempts the outcome of the valid appeal in the matter.

“This flies in the face of INEC’s established practice of awaiting the decisions of appellate courts before taking action that may be prejudicial to the interest of the appellants.

“Furthermore, removing our candidate from the list of governorship contestants in Bayelsa would foist a situation of helplessness on the appellate court, the Candidate and our Party should the appeal succeed. We urge INEC to withdraw its amendment under reference in the interest of fairness.

“In the meantime, we appeal to the good people of Bayelsa State, especially our teeming members and supporters, to remain calm while the judicial process runs its full course. We have confidence that our candidate will be victorious both at the Court of Appeal and at the polls,” Morka added.