Court Affirms Douye Diri’s Election as Bayelsa State Governor

A three-member panel of the appellate court in Abuja has upheld Douye Diri’s election as governor of Bayelsa state.

Eko Hot Blog gathered that the court dismissed the appeal by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate Timipre Sylva, citing a lack of merit.

The court of appeal agreed with the lower tribunal’s decision that the petitioners did not sufficiently prove their case.

On November 13, 2023, Diri, representing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was declared the winner of the off-cycle election in Bayelsa with 175,196 votes, defeating Sylva and other candidates.

Sylva, a former minister of state for petroleum resources, received 110,108 votes.

Dissatisfied with the election results, Sylva and his party filed a petition with the tribunal, alleging that INEC wrongfully excluded results from three LGAs — Southern Ijaw, Ogbia, and Nembe.

He claimed these areas were his strongholds and that including their results would have given him the victory.

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On May 27, the tribunal decided that the petitioners did not present credible evidence to support their claims against the Bayelsa election outcome.

The tribunal dismissed all additional evidence and witness statements from the petitioners for being incompetent.

It ruled that the petitioners did not submit their additional proof of evidence within the legally allowed 21 days.

The tribunal also rejected the allegation that Bayelsa deputy governor Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo submitted forged university degree and NYSC exemption certificates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It stated that this allegation was a pre-election matter that should have been addressed by the federal high court.

Furthermore, the tribunal noted that a court of competent jurisdiction had already resolved the issue of Ewhrudjakpo’s educational qualifications.

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