Seriake Dickson

By Francis Ottah Agbo

The Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja was agog on Tuesday, May 24, 2016 as 10 paramount rulers from Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state mounted the witness box at the tribunal. They testified to the credibility of the January 9, 2016 governorship election that produced Governor Seriake Dickson.

The defeated APC Governorship Candidate in the election, Chief Timipre Sylva had in his petition to the tribunal, claimed that contrary to INEC claims that elections in Southern Ijaw held on January 9, 2016, he contended that election in the area only held on December 6, 2015 which he claimed to have won.

It was against this background that the monarchs, being the apolitical custodians of Southern Ijaw, were subpoenaed by the Bayelsa State Elections Petitions Tribunal to testify. The monarchs who were decked in their royal regalia disagreed with Sylva and swore to the holy bible that the governorship election in Southern Ijaw held on 9th January this year and not in December. They stressed that the polls were free, fair, peaceful, and credible, adding that INEC conducted the elections in total compliance with the Electoral Act 2010.

Led by HRH Job Dairus David, Etele VI and paramount ruler of Eruwari Community in Southern Ijaw, the monarch recalled that he and his colleagues had dragged INEC to the Federal High Court, Yenagoa on grounds that they were disenfranchised from participating in the December 5 governorship election and told the tribunal that if elections had held in their domains, they wouldn’t have sued the electoral umpire.

And contrary to the claims by Sylva that there was election on December 6 and that the January 9 rescheduled election was bedeviled with violence and malpractice, HRH Job Dairus David posited that the January 9 election which Governor Dickson won was peaceful and transparent. While flaunting his PVC to buttress his position, the monarch averred that he voted at unit 14, ward 12 of Southern Ijaw.

The other nine monarchs also attested to the credibility of the polls. They are: HRH Toboro Andy Godwill, HRH Ayawei Job, HRH Mangiri Clifford Nage, HRH Imboko Herbert James, and HRH Okoko Stample. Others are HRH Mabinton Frank Bomoayibala, HRH Taylor Awe Patrick, HRH Kenneth I. Opukemo and HRH Kieri B.S Idomo.

Before the monarchs mounted the witness box, a mild drama ensued. Sylva’s lead lawyer, Mr. Sebastian Hon, (SAN) had tried to no avail to stop the paramount rulers from testifying on grounds that the subpoena issued on them was wrong. After several legal fireworks by Governor Dickson’s lead counsel, Mr. Tayo Oyetibo,(SAN), the tribunal overruled Sylva’s objection on grounds that a Subpoena was a command and there was no way the tribunal would command the traditional rulers to appear to testify and turn around to deny them appearance!