Tribunal affirms election of Duoye Diri as Bayelsa state governor

A three-man panel of the Bayelsa Governorship Election Tribunal sitting in Abuja on Saturday August 15, affirmed the election of Senator Duoye Diri as Bayelsa State Governor.

This ruling comes a month after the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal filed by a former aspirant of the Bayelsa governorship election under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Timi Alaibe, challenging the candidacy of Senator Diri in the November 2019 election.

In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Owodunni, the tribunal held that the petition filed by mister Owei Woniwei of the Alliance for Democracy is incompetent and lacks merit.

The Tribunal further held that the petitioner failed to prove the allegations of the forged declaration of age and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharged certificate leveled against the Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence.

The tribunal afterwards dismissed the petition and affirmed Diri’s election.