15th August, 2020
By Taiwo Okanlawon
The Bayelsa Governorship Election Tribunal sitting in Abuja on Saturday affirmed the election of Duoye Diri as Bayelsa State Governor.
The three-man panel took the decision and quashed the petition submitted to it by mister Owei Woniwei of the Alliance for Democracy, against Senator Duoye Diri, saying that it lacks merit.
This is coming a month after the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal filed by a former aspirant of the Bayelsa governorship election under the Peoples Democratic Party, Timi Alaibe, challenging the candidacy of Senator Diri in the November 2019 election.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Owodunni on Saturday, the tribunal held that the petition 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 levelled against the Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence.
This development is on the heel of the Governor’s submission of names of 24 commissioner-nominees to the House of Assembly for confirmation as members of the State Executive Council (Exco).
The list came six months as after the governor assumed office, following the disqualification of Governor-elect David Lyon by the Supreme Court before his inauguration.