The Supreme Court has upheld the re-election of Senator Duoye Diri as Governor of Bayelsa State, dismissing the appeal filed by Timipre Sylva, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the November 11, 2023, off-cycle election.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Lawal Garba, on Friday, reaffirmed the July 15 decision of the Court of Appeal, which deemed Sylva’s appeal as an abuse of court process due to the filing of multiple notices of appeal.
The Supreme Court panel cited a provision of the 1999 Constitution, which grants a party only a single right to appeal a tribunal’s judgment, and consequently, faulted Sylva for filing two notices of appeal with the Appellate Court.
According to the official results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Governor Duoye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) emerged victorious, securing a total of 175,196 votes. His closest contender, Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives Congress (APC), trailed behind with 110,108 votes.
This outcome solidified Diri’s re-election as Governor of Bayelsa State.
This win, as confirmed by INEC, cemented Diri’s position as the re-elected Governor of Bayelsa State.
