BREAKING: Tribunal okays Douye Diri’s election as Bayelsa governor

Senator Douye Diri’s election as Bayelsa State Governor was on Saturday reaffirmed by the gubernatorial election tribunal sitting in Abuja.

This comes as the tribunal struck out a petition brought by Mr. Owei Woniwei of the Alliance for Democracy, against the election of Governor Diri.

In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Owodunni, the tribunal held that the petition is incompetent and was dismissed on the grounds that it lacks merit.

Woniwei had challenged the declaration of Diri and Mr. Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo as Governor and Deputy Governor respectively in Bayelsa State.

He sought the disqualification of Ewhrudjakpo on the grounds of irregularities in his academic qualifications and the cancellation of the governorship election and prayed the court to order a fresh election in Bayelsa, alleging that the poll conducted by the INEC failed to comply with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

Delivering the judgement, the Tribunal held that the petitioner failed to prove the allegations of the forged declaration of age and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharged certificate levelled against the Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence.