Sylva as sacrificial lamb of S’Court verdict

Sacked_Governor_of_Bayelsa_State_Timipre_Sylva

It is obvious there is political logjam in Bayelsa State. Mike Odiegwu writes that stakeholders are anxious to see how the whole

It is obvious there is political logjam in Bayelsa State. Mike Odiegwu writes that stakeholders are anxious to see how the whole crisis is resolved

A book on political misfortunes won’t be written in Nigeria without dedicating chapters to the sacked Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva. The former governor has, indeed, had a good dose of misadventure in his bid to toe the path of other sitting governors, who were used to having a smooth ride to a second term in office.

Like an object tossed about in a stormy sea, Sylva has been on a turbulent political voyage with a slim chance of arriving at a comfort zone. Hopes dimmed on his tempestuous second term journey after the Supreme Court evicted him from the Creek Haven, the Government House in Yenagoa, where he derived solace.

The court has put a final seal to the tenure elongation imbroglio. The seven justices in their unanimous wisdom ruled that the constitution of Nigeria did not envisage over-stretched tenures. They ruled that Sylva, Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Ibrahim Idris (Kogi), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), and Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto) ought to have vacated their offices on May 29, 2011.

Pundits believe that Sylva is the most hit among the other victims of the judgement. Though Imoke has lost his immunity and won’t be contesting the election as an incumbent governor, he remains a favoured son of the PDP. He has already secured a second term ticket under the umbrella of the party and most party members in Cross River are working to ensure that he wins the election. 

But the former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association in Bayelsa State, Mr. Stanley Damabide, argued that the judgement implied that if elected, the likes of Imoke and Wamakko will end their tenures in 2015 along with other governors, who assumed office on May 29, 2011. The fact is that Imoke and Wamakko have already emerged without rancour as the party’s candidates for the election,” he said.

“Indeed, Sylva is the most wounded. The judgement has torn his veil of immunity into shreds at a time he is waging an uncommon war against the PDP. It has broken his backbone and exposed him to further harassment and intimidation.” While one political school of thought believes that the court verdict was politically-motivated to target Sylva, another opines that it is a landmark judgement that has further brightened the democratic future of the country.

Sylva governor knew that the verdict of the court spelt doom for his ongoing battle against the leadership of the PDP. He, however, received the judgement with calm, describing it as a temporary setback. The ex-governor, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Doifie Ola, was optimistic that the ruling would nullify the Nov 19 primaries of the party and validate the January 2011 primaries, which he won.

But signs that the ex-governor must have been the prime target of the whole judicial episode emerged following a declaration by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission that it had concluded plans to commence investigations into corruption allegations against the sacked governors. There was also an indication that the EFCC had dispatched invitation letters to some of the deposed governors, including Sylva.

Following the development, Sylva has gone under. He has not been sighted in the country since the judgement was delivered. In fact, there were speculations that Sylva had taken measures to shield himself from the onslaught of the anti-graft body by leaving the shores of the country. There are insinuations that the ex-governor had anticipated the ruling of the court and left for the United States a day before the verdict.

But Ola said, His movement is private now since he is no longer the governor of the state. He has the right to freedom of movement and as we speak, he has not been invited by any anti-graft agency. If eventually he is invited by the EFCC, he will make himself available. I guarantee you that.”

Besides the issues surrounding the whereabouts of the ex-governor, the verdict of the apex court, which was given without consequential orders, has generated many controversies. It has led to the debate on the authentic candidate of the PDP for the Feb 11 election in the state. After brooding over the puzzle posed by the judgement, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared that it would recognise candidates who emerged from the primaries conducted after the Court of Appeal judgement of April 15, 2011.

INEC’s position has further cast doubt on Sylva’s calculations of reclaiming his candidacy. The ex-governor, in a statement signed by Ola, argued that the commission was not in the best position to interpret the judgement of a court.

“Sylva disagrees completely with this interpretation of the Supreme Court judgement. He does not regard the INEC position as final. For him, the Supreme Court is better placed to resolve the matter of the proper candidate for the PDP in the Bayelsa governorship election.

“Only on Monday, the Supreme Court granted Sylva the leave to validate his candidacy in the election, as his cross-appeal against a Court of Appeal ruling and application for accelerated hearing received the apex court’s nod. Sylva urges his supporters to remain confident and hopeful that at the end of the day, justice will be done,” the statement said.

Apart from the complexity of the judgement, there are indications that the party has prepared more hurdles for the former governor. He may have been pencilled down for expulsion at the party’s next National Executive Committee meeting. Observers also believe that the EFCC may soon declare the former governor wanted on allegations of corruption.

But Sylva said he was ready for any eventuality. He said the report that the party might expel him was not new, reasoning that it was one of the options the party’s leadership considered at the inception of his disqualification from contesting the party’s primaries. He recalled that Governor Rotimi Amaechi was expelled from the party when he dragged the PDP to court over a case of illegal substitution, but that the court eventually reinstated him.

He said, “This has been on from the beginning of this crisis. It was one of the options on the ground. The ex-governor is prepared for any eventuality. We are already in court over the injustice, which the leadership of the PDP meted out to him.”

Beyond operating at the level of rhetoric, the pertinent questions some political observers have been asking are: Who becomes the authentic governorship candidate of the PDP in the forthcoming election and does the Supreme Court have any further role to play in resolving the seeming political logjam in Bayelsa State?