By Abiola Olawale
The Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, in Abuja, on Monday upheld the election process and results that led to the emergence of Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State.
In a ruling delivered by a three-man panel led by Justice Adekunle Adeleye, the tribunal struck out the petition filed by the Bayelsa state governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Timipre Sylva.
In a unanimous ruling, the three-man panel held that the petition of Sylva lacked merit.
The tribunal also held 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.
It would be recalled that 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.
However, dissatisfied with the election, Sylva, a former Minister of State for Petroleum, approached the tribunal seeking the nullification of the election on the ground that it was marred by irregularities.
