Court of Appeal Decline To Annul The Election of Governor Seriake Dickson

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, declined to annul the election of Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State.

The court, in an unanimous judgement by a five-man panel of Justices, dismissed joint appeal the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its governorship candidate in the state, Mr. Timipre Sylva, lodged against Dickson.

The appellate court panel led by Justice Rotimi Olukayode Bada, held that the appeal lacked merit, even as it upheld the July 26 verdict of the Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which declared Dickson of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as the bona-fide winner of the gubernatorial contest.

The appellants had through their lawyer, Mr. Sebastine Hon, SAN, prayed the appellate court to set-aside the decision of the tribunal, sack Dickson and order fresh governorship election in Bayelsa State.

Sylva who is a former governor of the state and his party, among other things, contended that the tribunal misled itself, misapplied the law and came to wrong conclusion in its verdict when it declined to void the election which they said was fraught with manifest irregularities.

They argued that the tribunal erred in law when it held that the reasons INEC gave on why it cancelled election result in some parts of the state was within the provision of section 26(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010.