Supreme Court rules in suit against Diri as Bayelsa Governor

Douye Diri has been affirmed as the duly elected Governor of Bayelsa State, by a seven-man panel of the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

The apex court, in a unanimous judgement by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, dismissed the six appeals filed against Diri and his deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo.

Justice Ngwuta, in his judgement, predicated the dismissal of the appeals on the withdrawal of the six appeals by lawyers of the appellants.

The appeals dismissed were filed by the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party (ANDP), Accord Party (AP) and Labour Movement (LM).

Diri who contested under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came second in the last year’s governorship election in the state.

He was later declared Governor of the state in a subsequent Supreme Court judgement disqualifying the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, David Lyon, who had emerged the winner of the poll.

Diri’s victory has been challenged a number of times, but the Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja had at different times also affirmed him as the duly elected governor of the state.