Just In: Supreme Court Affirms Diri As Bayelsa Governor

The Supreme Court has affirmed the re-election of Senator Duoye Diri as the Governor of Bayelsa State after dismissing the appeal of Timipre Sylva, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the November 11, 2023 off-cycle election.

A five-member panel of the Apex Court headed by Justice Lawal Garba, on Friday affirmed the Court of Appeal decision of July 15 which deemed Sylva’s appeal as an abuse of Court process for filing two notices of appeal.

Citing a section of the 1999 Constitution, the Apex Court panel held that the APC Governorship candidate has only one right to appeal the judgment of the Tribunal and not multiple appeals. The Court therefore faulted the APC Governorship candidate who filed two notices of appeal to the Appellate Court.

In a unanimous judgment the appeal dismissed by the Supreme Court for lacking merit.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared that governor Duoye Diri of the PDP garnered a total of 175,196 votes to defeat his closest rival, Timipre Sylva of the APC who polled 110,108 votes.