The Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has validated the re-election of Senator Douye Diri as duly elected Governor of the State.
The three-man panel led by Justice Adekunle Adeleye at its sitting on Monday, unanimously dismissed the petition filed by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timipre Sylva and his party for lacking merit.
Justice Adeleye, who read the judgement of the panel declared that, “The petitioners failed to prove any credible evidence to back up any of the allegations they raised against the re-election victory of Diri.”
More so, the tribunal dismissed the allegation that the deputy governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, tendered forged University Degree Certificate and NYSC Exemption Certificate, to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in aid of his qualification to contest the election.
It held that the allegation was a pre-election matter that ought to be litigated before the Federal High Court, adding that the matter had become statute barred since the petitioners failed to challenge the genuineness of the certificates, 14 days after it was submitted to INEC.
Besides, it held that the issue of Ewhrudjakpo’s educational qualification was previously determined by a court of competent jurisdiction.
