An NGO, Truth Movement of Nigeria, says APC’s governorship candidate for Dec. 5 governorship election in Bayelsa state, Mr Timipre Sylva, is not qualified to contest.

Mr Chris Udensi, Deputy National Chairman of the movement, made the remark at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday.

“Sylva has been elected twice as governor of Bayelsa and is therefore not qualified to contest as APC’s candidate come Dec. 5.’’

According to him, though Sylva’s election in 2007 was annulled by the Court of Appeal, he contested and won the re-run election.

This, he added, made him serve for a commutative period of four years and seven months as governor of Bayelsa.
Udensi claimed that Sylva’s standing for Dec. 5 governorship election would make it the third time he would be seeking the office.

“No person shall be qualified for election to the office of governor of a state if he has been elected to such office at any two previous elections,’’ Udensi said.

“This is clearly stated in Section 182 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). In all, a governor has a maximum tenure of eight years under the constitution. And Sylva had previously been elected twice as governor of Bayelsa.

“The APC, therefore, has no qualified candidate for the forthcoming Bayelsa governorship election’’, Udensi said.
He said the group was bringing the issue to public notice to enable relevant authorities to take appropriate steps to avoid constitutional crisis in the state.

Efforts to get the Special Adviser on media to Sylva, Mr Doifie Ola, to react to the development, proved abortive.