The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said  that Chief Timipre Sylva remains their governorship candidate and the party plans to go ahead with the October 14 campaign launch for the November 11 governorship election.

Slyva was disqualified from featuring in the forthcoming gubernatorial polls on Monday in a judgement delivered by Justice Donatus Okorowo of the Federal High Court, Abuja. Okorowo ruled that Sylva, having been sworn in twice and ruled for five years as governor of Bayelsa, would breach the 1999 Constitution as amended if allowed to contest again.

But APC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said Sylva remains the party’s candidate. “We wish to state categorically that Chief Timipre Sylva is and remains the Bayelsa governorship candidate of our great party in the Nov. 11, 2023, governorship election. “Our party and its candidate have duly instructed the legal team to appeal the said decision of the Federal High Court diligently and expeditiously.

“We urge our teeming members, supporters, and residents of Bayelsa to remain calm and await the outcome of the appeal, and we remain confident that we shall prevail,” he said. Morka said that with nothing to offer the Bayelsa electorate, after its poor performance as the ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had since resorted to mercenary lawsuits. He added that the PDP had also resorted to underhand dealings and antics to distract and create confusion among the people of the state.