The Nigerian Supreme Court, yesterday, affirmed the election of Douye Diri as the authentic governor of Bayelsa State.
A seven-member panel of justices of the apex court in a unanimous judgment dismissed the six appeals, which sought to oust Governor Diri and the Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, following the withdrawal of applications by counsel to the appellants.
The Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party (ANDP) Alliance for Democracy (AD), its governorship candidate, Owei Woniwei, Liberation Movement (LM), its candidate, Vijah Opuama, and the Accord Party (AP) had approached the court to upturn Diri’s election but later withdrew their appeals.
The court argued that the appellant’s claim of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) disqualification of its candidate was wrong because the candidate did not meet the constitutional age requirement.
Previous Judgements
Before this, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, had in a judgment of October 2, 2020, upturned the Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal’s verdict that nullified Diri’s election. The appellate court had in its decision by a five-man panel of justices, voided the majority judgment the tribunal delivered on August 17, 2020, which ordered INEC to conduct a fresh election in the state within 90 days.
It hinged its decision on the ground that INEC unlawfully excluded the ANDP from the November 16, 2019 governorship election. All the appeals were dismissed for being statute-barred and for containing pre-election matters beyond the scope of an election tribunal.
Diri Calls Truce
Reacting to the new ruling by the Supreme Court, Governor Diri through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, extended an olive branch to opposition parties who have contested his win, calling on all parties to collaborate with the government. “Of course, it is their right to take their matter to the end. However, I call on my brothers on the other side, who are not my enemies but political adversaries, so to speak, to join hands with our government and ensure that we bring development and prosperity to our people,” he said.
This is the fifth time the Nigerian governor and his deputy have gone to court as a result of their election win.
This story is part of our new series on Nigeria where we analyse electoral and political reform in the country ahead of the next general elections in 2023.
