The All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva scaled another legal hurdle on Tuesday when a Federal High Court in Yenagoa, dismissed a suit seeking to disqualify Chief Joshua Maclver, running mate to Sylva in the November 11 governorship election.
Mrs Isikima Ogbomade Johnson, an aspirant in the APC governorship primaries had dragged Maclver to Court challenging his eligibility to contest the November 11 governorship election.
Johnson through her counsel, Kuroiyedoughe Elijah Leizou had informed the Court that there are 10 witnesses to be presented in Court to show that Maclver is ineligible for being an ex- convict who did not serve out his prison term and also for not being part of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
She also argued that Maclver lied under oath to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that he was not an ex-convict.
In the course of the legal fireworks contrary to the plaintiff’s earlier information that 10 witnesses were going to be presented, only three witnesses were presented.
The Presidential Amnesty office also confirmed that Maclver was indeed a beneficiary of the late President Umaru Yar’ Adua amnesty, while the Nigeria Correctional Services also gave Maclver a clean bill of health when it declared that he has no pending sentence to serve.
Justice Olaide Quadiri who ruled over the case on Tuesday threw it out noting that it was a pre-election case that was filed outside the prescribed number of days.
He therefore declared that the Court had no jurisdiction to hear the matter.
Sylva in his reaction to the Court ruling expressed happiness that all efforts by the PDP to deny APC being on the ballot has failed.
According to him, the PDP aware that it has failed the people of the state is afraid of election which it knows it would fail.
“We are happy about the Court judgment. Because I had confidence that these cases were all frivolous cases just filed to ensure APC is not on the ballot. The PDP is afraid of the election and do not want APC to be on the ballot. They filed one case at the Federal High Court Abuja and three cases here. APC is ready for the election”.