A’Court dismisses Alaibe’s appeal, affirms Diri as Bayelsa governor 

Douye Diri has been affirmed as the Governor of Bayelsa State by the Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri, Imo State.

The court dismissed the appeal by Ndutimi Alaibe, who was an aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the Bayelsa 2019 governorship election.

Diri came second in the November 16, 2019 governorship election in Bayelsa State behind the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, David Lyon who was declared as the winner of the election.

However, a Supreme Court ruling, which disqualified APC in the governorship election due to a case of certificate forgery by Lyon’s running mate, saw Diri emerge as the governor.

Following the development, Alaibe dragged Diri before a Federal High Court in Imo State, challenging his emergence as the winner of the PDP’s primary election in Bayelsa State.

After he was defeated at the lower court, Alaibe dragged the matter to the Appeal Court in Imo State.

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But, in its ruling on Tuesday, the court threw out Alaibe’s suit for “lacking in merit.”

The court upheld the ruling of the lower court which had earlier affirmed Diri as the winner of PDP primary election in Bayelsa State.

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