The immediate former Minister of Petroleum and former Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, will on Tuesday, stand before the Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, to testify against the declaration of Governor Douye Diri as winner of the November 11, 2023, governorship election in Bayelsa State.
According to the Daily Post, a hearing notice showed that Sylva would be led in evidence by Ahmed Raji SAN and Ogwu James Onoja SAN, who are both his lead counsel.
The Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress at the last governorship election in the state was said to be testifying as a star witness in his petition seeking nullification of the declaration of Diri as the elected governor of the state.
The former governor is expected to give a narrative on his case to the Tribunal, to shed more light on his case, concerning the conduct of the last Governorship election in the State.
However, the winner of the election and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Diri is also expected to be cross-examined on the veracity of the claims and allegations the witness may raise, after Sylva’s evidence.
The Governor is being represented at the Tribunal by a team of senior lawyers led by Chris Uche SAN.
Similarly, the Independent National Electoral Commission would also be permitted to cross-examine the APC governorship candidate on his allegations against the election.
The Returning Officer, Professor Faruq Kuta, had announced that PDP and Diri polled 175,196 votes to defeat his closest rival, Timipre Sylva of APC, who scored 110,108 votes in the disputed election.
However, to show their dissatisfaction towards the outcome of the election, Sylva and the APC approached the tribunal to challenge the declaration of Diri as the winner of the March 18 election in the state.
The Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Adekunle Adeleye, is however expected to preside over the hearing of the case.
