Breaking: Court affirms Diri as Bayelsa governor

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reversed the majority judgment of the Governorship Election Tribunal which sacked Douye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Governor of Bayelsa State.

Daily Times had reported that Diri’s election was nullified on August 17, 2020, based on a petition by the Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party, which argued that it was unlawfully excluded from participating in the election.

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The Nation reports that the Court of Appeal said that the cause of action was statute barred as at when the ANDP filed its petition, because its grouses of unlawful exclusion and unlawful disqualification are pre-election issues that ought to be raised within 14 days.

The Appellate Court proceeded to set aside the majority judgment of the tribunal, which had sacked Diri, and affirmed his return as the winner of the November 16, 2019 governorship election in Bayelsa State.

The judgments were on the appeal marked: CA/ABJ/EPT/GOV/703/2020, filed Diri and CA/ABJ/EPT/GOV/704/2020 by the Independent National Election Commission (INEC).

The court which scheduled judgments in seven appeals on the same dispute over the last Bayelsa Governorship election, is currently on the third appeal, marked: CA/ABJ/EPT/GOV/705/2020, filed by the PDP.