Nigeria

Court of Appeal affirms Diri as Bayelsa governor, dismisses Alaibe’s suit

Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 3:59 PM by Kess Ewubare

- The Court of Appeal has ruled that Governor Douye Diri is the winner of the PDP Bayelsa state primary election

- The court sitting in Owerri, Imo state, delivered the judgment on Tuesday, May 12

- When delivering the judgment, the appeal court upheld the ruling of the lower court which dismissed Timi Alaibe’s suit

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The Court of Appeal has declared Governor Douye Diri as the winner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary election in Bayelsa state.

The court sitting in Owerri, Imo state on Tuesday, May 12, dismissed an appeal filed by Timi Alaibe who challenged the emergence of Douye Diri as the winner of the PDP primary.

Court of appeal delivers judgment on Bayelsa election — The suit was filed by a PDP chieftain Timi Alaibe. Photo credits: The Guardian
Source: UGC

In the ruling, the court upheld the decision of the lower court and ruled that the suit filed by Alaibe lacked merit.

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Legit recalls that not long after Diri, pronounced as Bayelsa state governor by the Supreme Court, Alaibe had dragged the governor and the INEC to court over what he described as a flawed process of the PDP primary.

But a high court had on March 10, dismissed Alaibe’s suit for lacking merit.

Meanwhile, a south-south founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Richard Kpodo, has advised his party to shelve the idea of fielding a candidate for the Bayelsa West senatorial bye-election.

Kpodo in a statement to Legit.ng insisted that it would be foolhardy for the APC to deploy a disorganized and demotivated structure against a highly-spirited and organized Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming poll.

The party chief, who spoke in Port Harcourt in Rivers state, said Dickson was poised to benefit from his hard work in holding the PDP together as one big family.

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He said while Dickson as a governor built a strong PDP structure, which had been inherited by his anointed successor, Governor Douye Diri, the APC leader in the state and petroleum minister, Chief Timipre Sylva, was pursuing a selfish agenda.

The former security adviser to the Bayelsa state government said from 2015 when Dickson defeated Sylva to clinch a second term in office, APC had remained a faltering party in Bayelsa without any focus and direction.

He said the leader of the APC had demonstrated lack of leadership skill and careless attitude in handling party and political affairs in the state adding that his carefree disposition cost the party its governorship victory at the 11th hour.

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He urged the national leadership of the party to change APC's state leader, embark on true and sincere reconciliation to build a strong and sustainable APC in the state.