Court confirms re-election of Douye Diri as Bayelsa governor

The Bayelsa State Governorship Electoral Petition Tribunal in Abuja has confirmed the re-election of Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State in south-south Nigeria.

A three-member panel of the court headed by Adekunle Adeleye on Monday dismissed a petition filed by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 11, 2024 governorship election in the state, Timipre Sylva.

“There is no credible evidence”

The court said Mr Sylva’s petition was without merit.

In its unanimous verdict, the court said Sylva and the APC failed to present any credible evidence to prove allegations of electoral fraud during the Bayelsa State gubernatorial election.

The court, after evaluating the petitioners’ evidence, dismissed the sworn testimony of some of Mr. Sylva’s witnesses.

Referring to some of the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, the court said that an election petition must be filed no later than 21 days after the electoral commission, INEC, has declared the results of an election.

He further noted that a petition must be filed along with written statements of all potential witnesses in the suit.

Article page with financial support promotion

The court criticized Mr. Sylva’s late submission of additional evidence and sworn witness statements, saying it amounted to a “surreptitious attempt to amend the petitioners’ case.”

Ruling on the issue of Bayelsa State Deputy Governor Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo’s non-qualification to stand for election, the court said the issue of forgery of certificates against Mr Ewhrudjakpo was a pre-election matter that should have been raised before the Federal Court. Supreme Court.

Allegations of forgery disputed

Furthermore, the court dismissed the allegation that the lieutenant governor forged his university certificate.

Sylva previously accused Ewhrudjakpo of falsifying his university degree certificate and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) exemption certificate, which were submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to support his candidacy.

The court recalled that the issue of Mr. Ewhrudjakpo’s educational qualifications had been resolved by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Contradictions

In the decision, the justices pointed out the contradiction in Sylva’s case when they urged the court to declare him the winner of the election and asked that it also invalidate the election.

The court further stated that Sylva and his party did not substantiate their claim of electoral malpractices or how they affected the outcome of the elections.

He argued that the petitioners were unable to meet the burden of proof imposed on them by law, highlighting that they did not demonstrate, voting unit by voting unit, the details of the non-compliance they alleged and how it substantially affected the outcome of the election.

Diri, the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), won the November 2023 gubernatorial election to secure a second term. He garnered a total of 175,196 votes to beat Sylva, who garnered 110,108 votes.

Sylva had resigned from his position as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari to contest the elections as an APC candidate.