Dickson floors Sylva at Appeal Court; APC supporters weep; governor hails judiciary

Supporters of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, wept on Wednesday as the Abuja Division of the Appeal Court declared that Governor Seriake Dickson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was validly elected in the last election that produced him into office.
The appellate court, which upheld the decision of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, said Sylva failed to prove allegations of corruption, non compliance, gross violation of the Electoral Act and other malpractices in the conduct of the election.
In a unanimous decision, Justice Jimi Bada, who led a five-man panel, delivered the lead judgement.
Sylva’s supporters at the premises wept when they were told that their principal had lost his deposit.
They refused to speak to journalists.
It was the same gnashing of teeth in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, as some of them were seen with teary eyes.
The appellate court resolved all the five issues raised by Sylva and the APC in favour of Dickson and the PDP.
Justice Bada said the foundation of the ground upon which the appellant based his case that the December 6, 2015 election was unilaterally cancelled by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) was eroded having participated actively in the rescheduled election of January 9, 2016, adding that it was established beyond doubt that the decision to shift the December 6, 2015 election to January 9, 2016 was taken by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and stakeholders.
He said: “The contention of the appellant has no merit. They were expected to leave evidence to prove their claim that the election was marred by irregularities, electoral malpractices, allocation of votes and gross violation of Electoral Act. These allegations were not proved by the appellants.
“I am in total agreement with the judgement of the Tribunal because its decision was based on the evidence placed before it”.
Having resolved all the five issues raised by the appellants in favour of the respondents, Justice Bala dismissed the petition in its entirety for lacking in merit.
Sylva and APC had challenged Dickson’s election at the tribunal on the ground that the governor was not lawfully returned through majority votes by INEC.
But in a unanimous decision, the three-man tribunal, led by Justice Kazeem Aloba, held that the APC failed to prove its case.
Fielding questions from newsmen shortly after the judgement was delivered, counsel to Sylva, Daniel Nwoko, said that the judgement of the Appeal Court would be tested at the Supreme Court “because there are aspects of the judgement that need clarification”.
Counsel to Dickson, Emeka Etiaba (SAN), lauded the judgement.
Meanwhile, Dickson has commended the judiciary for asserting its independence and steadfastness in protecting the sanctity of the ballot as well as upholding itself as the bastion of the nation’s democracy.
His comment came after the judgement.
Dickson, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Daniel Iworiso-Markson, called on Sylva to stop the flagrant abuse of the judicial process and the needless distractions designed at overheating the polity.
He noted that the judgement indicated that the resolve of the people did not go in vain as he called for greater vigilance to protect democracy in the country.