'Judiciary has exonerated me': Mr Silva welcomes verdict validating him as APC candidate

The High Court declared Mr Silva's candidacy invalid, but the Court of Appeal on Tuesday ruled against the lower court's decision. said it was wrong.

Timipre Sylva has welcomed the judgment of the Court of Appeal that reinstated him as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 11 Bayelsa polls.

The high court invalidated Silva's candidacy, but the appeals court said Tuesday the lower court's decision was wrong.

Hours after the verdict, Mr. Silva, a former petroleum minister of state, said that his latest developments were a great relief to him.

"I'm just relieved because I was confused when this verdict came out, but I'm very relieved today," he said on Channels Television's "Politics Today" on Tuesday. Told.

He added: "Today, I think the judiciary has redeemed itself."

Following the earlier ruling, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) removed Mr Silva's name from the list of gubernatorial candidates. was being deleted.

However, the Court of Appeal in its judgment directed the Electoral Commission to relist the APC candidates. Mr. Silva was also given one million naira.

According to Silva, the developments surrounding his candidacy developed into a similar pattern to when David Ryan was removed by the APC in 2020 just before he was sworn in as the next governor.

INEC declared Lyon the winner of the 2019 Bayelsa State governorship election, but the Supreme Court ruled in February the following year that his representative, INEC, had submitted forged certificates and declared Douye Diri of the PDP He was dismissed from office because he approved it as governor.

Mr. Silva argued that without Tuesday's ruling, much of what happened in 2020 would be repeated, risking his party losing the 2023 gubernatorial election.

"This was actually very disturbing. It became something that we were seeing as a pattern, but this puts an end to that," he said on the show.

He also accused the PDP of being nervous before the exercise.

“The PDP is afraid of this election very clearly,” Sylva added. “They have not done so well and they know. From even the campaigns, everybody can see very clearly. If you go to Bayelsa, it is almost clear to everyone that the election has been won by APC,” the APC candidate added.