Bayelsa: Tribunal reserves judgement in APC petition against Diri’s governorship victory

The Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has reserved judgement in a petition filed by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timipre Sylva, against the declaration of Douye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the Governor of the state.

Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Adekunle Adeleye, announced that the judgement will be delivered within 180 days statutorily allowed by law.

The chairman said all the parties in the petition would be communicated as soon as the date is fixed.

At the proceedings, all the parties adopted their written addresses, either asking the court to uphold their petition on the ground that the election was marred by irregularities or that the APC does not have a tangible case before the tribunal.

Diri, who came into power in 2020, won the November 2023 governorship poll to secure a second term. He got a total of 175,196 votes while Sylva polled 110,108 votes but the Minister of State for Petroleum is in court to challenge the outcome.