The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the re-election of Douye Diri as the governor of Bayelsa.

In a judgement, the apex court dismissed the appeal by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timipre Sylva, and his party.

The lead judgement delivered by Justice Garba Lawal held that the appeal by Mr Sylva and APC lacked merit and was a gross abuse of court process.

The unanimous decision of the apex court upheld the earlier decisions of the Court of Appeal and the election petition tribunal.

The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal affirmed the re-election victory of Mr Diri of Bayelsa in the November 11, 2023, governorship poll.

In a unanimous judgement, the three-member panel of justices led by Justice James Abundaga held that the appeal filed by the appellants, Mr Sylva and APC lacked merit.

The panel held that the tribunal was not in error when it struck several paragraphs of the petitioner’s reply against the governor’s election.

On May 27, the election tribunal dismissed the petition filed by Mr Sylva and the APC.

The three-member tribunal, led by Justice Adekunle Adeleye, dismissed the petition for lacking merit.

In a unanimous decision, the tribunal held that the petitioners failed to adduce credible evidence to substantiate their allegations against the outcome of the state’s governorship poll.

It struck out all the additional proof of evidence and statements on oath of some of the witnesses who testified for the petitioners as incompetent.

According to the tribunal, the law expressly provided that an election petition must be filed no later than 21 days after the election result was declared.

(NAN)