The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has upheld the election of Governor Douye Diri who was elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party in the November 2023 governorship election in Bayelsa state.
Recall that the court had on Tuesday reserved judgment in the petition filed by the Labour Party and its governorship candidate Udengmobofa Eradiri, challenging the verdict of the Bayelsa State governorship election tribunal.
In its judgement delivered on Saturday by a three-man panel, the appellate court held that the tribunal was right in dismissing the LP’s petition for lacking in merit.
The court said Eradiri and the LP failed to prove allegations of non-qualification and certificate forgery levelled against Governor Diri and his Deputy.
It held that the issue of attachment of alleged forged documents to form EC8 submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC by the 3rd respondent is a pre-election matter which should not have been brought to the tribunal.
The panel, however, awarded the cost of two hundred thousand Naira against the appellant in favour of each of the respondents in the appeal.