The Supreme Court of Nigeria has confirmed that Douye Diri is the rightful governor of Bayelsa State.
This decision came on August 23, 2024.
Earlier, the Court of Appeal in Abuja had rejected a complaint from Timipre Sylva, who was unhappy with Diri’s election as governor.
What Happened?
After the election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced Douye Diri from the People Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner.
Diri received 175,196 votes. Timipre Sylva from the All Progressives Congress (APC) got 110,108 votes. The difference was 65,088 votes.
Sylva complained, saying there were problems with how the election was conducted and it did not follow the rules.
But the tribunal led by Adekunle Adeleye dismissed his complaint, calling it contradictory and lacking evidence.
The tribunal also noted that Sylva didn’t submit necessary witness statements with his complaint, as required by law.
Sylva then went to the appeal court to challenge the tribunal’s decision.
At the appeal court, Diri’s team insisted the tribunal was correct in dismissing Sylva’s complaint due to lack of proper evidence. They argued that Sylva couldn’t prove any wrongdoing in 184 polling units across Nembe, Ogbia, and Southern Ijaw areas.
Sylva’s team wanted the appeal court to consider the evidence they presented and overturn the tribunal’s decision.
But the appeal court agreed with the tribunal and struck down Sylva’s arguments against Diri’s election.
Supreme Court’s Final Decision
Both parties took their arguments to the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court’s Judge Garba Lawal agreed with the appeal court’s reasoning.
The court pointed out that Sylva’s team broke the rules by filing two notices of appeal on the same issue.
As a result, the Supreme Court dismissed the case, saying it didn’t have any merit.
This judgment confirmed that Douye Diri is indeed the governor of Bayelsa State.