Gov. Diri

A five-man panel of the Appellate Court has overturned a ruling which nullified the election of Douye Diri as governor of Bayelsa State.

In a unanimous judgment, the five-man panel of the court said the Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party failed woefully to show that it had a valid candidate that was unlawfully excluded by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The election petition tribunal sitting in Abuja had earlier nullified the November 16, 2019 Bayelsa State governorship election as a result of the exclusion of the Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party and its candidate, King George, from the exercise.

The ANDP had insisted that its initial Deputy Governorship Candidate, David Esinkuma was duly substituted by the party within the allowed time frame, following the notification from INEC that he was under-aged.