The Court of Appeal has dismissed the petition filed by the Labour Party (LP) and its governorship candidate Udengmobofa Eradiri, which challenged the emergence of Governor Douye Diri of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as governor of Bayelsa State in the November 2023 election.
A three-man panel of the appellate court upheld the earlier decision of the tribunal, stating that the LP’s petition lacked merit.
The court ruled that Eradiri and his party failed to substantiate their allegations of non-qualification and certificate forgery against Governor Diri and his deputy.
The court also agreed with the tribunal’s finding that the LP’s petition was abandoned because it had not been signed by either the petitioners or their counsel, as required by law.
Moreover, the court noted that the issue regarding the attachment of allegedly forged documents to form EC8, submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by the third respondent, was a pre-election matter and should not have been brought before the tribunal.
The panel awarded the cost of two hundred thousand Naira against the appellant in favor of each of the respondents in the appeal.