The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Friday, set aside the judgment of the Bayelsa State Election Petition Tribunal which nullified the election of Douye Diri as the governor of the state.
Diri, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was declared the winner of the 16 November, 2019 governorship election held in the state.
However, the Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party (ANDP) disputed the outcome of the election and headed for the court, alleging that its logo was not put on the ballot box by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The three-man election petitions panel, led by Justice Mohammed Sirajo, last August, ruled that the election was unlawful due to the exclusion of the ANDP and its candidate, King George, from the governorship election in the state.
The election petitions tribunal further ruled that a fresh election be conducted in the state by the INEC within 90 days of the delivery of the judgment.
However, on Friday, the Abuja appellate court held that the Bayelsa Election Petition Tribunal acted outside its jurisdiction by nullifying the election of Governor Diri.
In a unanimous judgment, the five-man panel of the court said the ANDP failed woefully to show that it had a valid candidate that was unlawfully excluded by the INEC.
The court berated the tribunal for ignoring the fact that the petition of ANDP was status barred, in addition to the fact that the party presented an unqualified candidate to INEC in the governorship election in Bayelsa State.
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