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Bayelsa poll: Sylva rejects tribunal verdict, plans appeal
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The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Bayelsa State in last November governorship election and former Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, has stated his intention to appeal the tribunal judgment affirming the election of Douye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party as governor.
Sylva expressed dissatisfaction with the judgment in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs, Julius Bokoru, saying he was heading for the Court of Appeal to liberate Bayelsans.
The statement said he immediately held a meeting with elders and stakeholders of the party after the judgment.
According to the statement, the decision to appeal the judgment was taken at the meeting and Sylva also directed his legal team to make the necessary preparation.
Bokoru recalled that Sylva had earlier accused the tribunal of bias following several infractions observed by his lawyers during the hearing of the case.
Sylva said: “We are not satisfied with the decision of the tribunal. But this is just a court of first instance and after meeting with the elders and critical stakeholders of our great party, the APC, we directed our legal team to seek justice for Bayelsa at the Supreme Court.”
But Governor Diri welcomed the tribunal verdict, saying it would serve as motivation for him to serve the state better.
The Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, in a judgment on Monday, upheld Diri’s victory in the November 11, 2023 governorship election in the state.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared that Diri of the PDP polled 175,196 votes to defeat his closest rival, Sylva of the APC, who scored 110,108 votes.
Reacting in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, Diri said the tribunal judgment had proven again that the judiciary was the last hope of the common man.
While describing the lawsuit as “a needless distraction”, he said he could not squarely focus on governance and delivery of dividends of democracy to the people of Bayelsa State.
“Matters like these are mere distractions in delivering the dividends of democracy to the people, particularly against the backdrop that we had an election that was adjudged to be one of the freest and the fairest. And yet we have been distracted over this period. I want to let the Bayelsa people know that we are still for you and will continue to work for you and walk with you until the final day of our administration.
“Once again, l use this opportunity to thank my people of Bayelsa State who graciously and freely gave me this mandate. lt is actually not my victory but it is for the people of Bayelsa.
“As l always pledge, our administration is people-focused and people-oriented. So this will again give us a better latitude to continue to deliver the dividends of democracy to our people,” Diri said.
Diri expressed appreciation to his legal team for its commitment and passion and all those who worked hard towards securing a sound judgment.
A three-man panel led by Justice Adekunle Adeleye dismissed the petition filed by Sylva and the APC against Diri for lacking in merit.
In a unanimous decision, the tribunal held that the petitioners failed to prove any credible evidence to back up any of the allegations they raised against the re-election victory of Diri.
The tribunal held that the petitioners’ prayers were contradictory, adding that Sylva and APC did not tender any electoral material to show that any irregularity occurred during the election.
The tribunal also held that the petitioners were unable to discharge the burden of proof that was placed on them by the law.
The panel said the petitioners failed to show, “polling units by polling units evidence of the non-compliance submitted and how it substantially affected the outcome of the election.”
The tribunal struck out as incompetent all the additional proof of evidence as well as statements on oath of some of the witnesses who testified for the petitioners.
“The petitioners, having failed to establish all the pleaded facts, I hold that this petition failed on all the three grounds that it was predicated upon.
“I hereby dismiss the petition as lacking in merit. Parties are to bear their respective costs,” the tribunal held.
The Permanent Chairman of the Southern Nigerian Traditional Rulers Council (SNTRC), Arole Oodua Olofin Adimula and the Natural Head of the Oduduwa race worldwide, the Ooni of Ife, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, has rubbished reports circulating on social media alleging that he conferred a chieftaincy title on popular Nollywood actor and comedian, James Olanrewaju, popularly known as Baba Ijesha.
In a statement on Saturday by the Director of Media and Public Affairs, Ooni’s Palace, Otunba Moses Olafare said the Ooni clarified that although he warmly received the actor and his wife at the Ile Oodua Palace on Wednesday to celebrate the birth of his son and presented him with a brand-new car and cash gifts as a demonstration of his fatherly love and royal generosity, no chieftaincy title was conferred on him.
According to him, the expression “Awada Konge Oduwa,” which Baba Ijesha later described on his social media pages as a chieftaincy title, was merely a light-comedy remark made by the Ooni during a relaxed interaction in recognition of the actor’s outstanding career as a comedian.
The remark was never intended to constitute a formal installation or conferment of a traditional title.
The Ooni noted that Baba Ijesha, as an indigene of Ile-Ife and a proud son of the source, is deserving of honour and could be considered for a chieftaincy title in the future.
However, no such title has been conferred on him.
“The conferment of chieftaincy titles in Ile-Ife remains a sacred traditional process governed by established customs, consultations and traditional rites, which are publicly conducted in accordance with the age-long traditions of the source. None of these customary procedures took place during the actor’s visit to the Palace, “he said.
While appreciating Baba Ijesha for acknowledging the royal kindness extended to him and his family, the Ooni urged media organisations and members of the public to disregard reports claiming that the actor has been installed as the “Awada Konge Oduwa” or conferred with any chieftaincy title.
The Ooni reaffirmed his commitment to celebrating and supporting deserving sons and daughters of Ile-Ife and the Oodua race at large while preserving the sanctity, dignity and integrity of the revered traditional institution of chieftaincy.
The Presidency has called on security and anti-graft agencies to identify, arrest and prosecute government officials who may have collaborated with Prince Matthew Adeniyi Adeyemi in the alleged operation of two fictitious federal government agencies.
Adeyemi is accused of creating the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council using allegedly forged documents purportedly linked to the Presidency.
In a statement on his verified X handle, the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, said investigators must go beyond Adeyemi and expose the internal network that allegedly enabled him to operate for an extended period.
Ajayi urged the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate all officials within public institutions who may have aided the alleged scheme.
According to Ajayi, much of the public debate has ignored the fact that government institutions detected the alleged fraud and acted on it.
He said officials of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, working with officers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, first discovered inconsistencies in Adeyemi’s operations and reported the matter to the appropriate authorities.
“Contrary to the anything-goes narrative being promoted, it was the system itself that raised the red flag and dealt with it administratively,” Ajayi said.
He, however, acknowledged that the suspect could not have operated for long without help from insiders.
“What is not in doubt is that internal collaborators enabled Adeyemi to get this far. That is precisely what investigators from the DSS, the Police and the EFCC must now unravel.
“The criminal network within the affected institutions must be dismantled and everyone found to have played a role should be arrested and prosecuted,” he said.
The Presidency had earlier disowned the disowned the two organisations, insisting that they did not exist as government agencies.
It also maintained that the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, neither authorised Adeyemi’s activities nor had any connection with them.
“In Nigeria, the easiest and most believable allegation anyone can throw at a public officer is corruption.
“Once that accusation is thrown into the mix, the water is polluted, the lines are blurred and everyone is kept busy arguing over distractions rather than the real issues,” he wrote.
He described Adeyemi as “an irredeemable con artist” who was using allegations against the Chief of Staff as “his last straw” to avoid criminal liability.
The Presidency insisted that the case should not be framed as evidence of complicity at the highest levels of government, but as an alleged fraud uncovered by the system itself.
Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, Abuja Region has announced a planned preventive maintenance at the Katampe 132/33 KiloVolt (kV) Transmission Substation on Saturday from 9:00am to 4:00pm.
General Manager, Public Affairs of the TCN, Mrs Ndidi Mbah, made this announcement in a statement in Abuja on Saturday.
Mbah said the scheduled maintenance is to enable TCN’s maintenance crew carry out preventive maintenance on the 100 Mega Volt Ampere (MVA) 132/33kV Power Transformer (TR1), its auxiliaries, and associated switchgear in the substation.
”Consequently, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, will be unable to off-take bulk power for distribution to customers in parts of Mpape, Maitama, Jahi, Life Camp,
”Others are Kado Fish Market, Idu-Karmo, and their environs during the maintenance period,” she said.
According to her, the company regrets any inconvenience the planned outage may cause electricity customers in the affected areas.
She added that equipment maintenance is essential to ensure their continued optimal performance.
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