The Court of Appeal in Abuja has confirmed that Governor Douye Diri, who belongs to the Peoples Democratic Party, won the November 2023 governorship election in Bayelsa state.
We remember that on Tuesday, the court had said it would decide later on a complaint by the Labour Party and its candidate, Udengmobofa Eradiri. They were unhappy with the Bayelsa State governorship election tribunal’s decision.
On Saturday, a group of three judges said the tribunal was correct to dismiss the Labour Party’s complaint because it didn’t have enough evidence.
The court explained that Eradiri and the Labour Party couldn’t prove that Governor Diri and his Deputy were not qualified or used fake certificates.
The judges mentioned that arguing about fake documents attached to form EC8 given to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by the third respondent should have been done before the election, not after, at the tribunal.
Lastly, the court ordered Eradiri and the Labour Party to pay two hundred thousand Naira to each of the people they complained against.