Bayelsa Governorship Election: Diri To Open Defence At Tribunal Next Week

Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye Diri, and his Deputy, Lawrence Ewhrujakpo, are slated to present their defence at the state governorship tribunal in Abuja next week.

The tribunal is hearing a challenge against their re-election by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Timipre Sylva.

The dispute stems from the November 11, 2023, governorship election results, where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Diri the winner with 175,196 votes, defeating Sylva, who garnered 110,108 votes.

Unsatisfied with the outcome, Sylva and the APC have petitioned the tribunal, contesting Diri’s victory.

The core of Sylva and the APC’s argument revolves around the conduct of elections in certain polling units across three local governments—Southern Ijaw, Ogbia, and Nembe—where they allege that votes were not accounted for in the official results.

They claim that the inclusion of these results would sway the election in their favor, urging the tribunal to recognize the overlooked votes and declare them the winners.

During the tribunal proceedings on February 14, 2024, INEC defended its position by presenting evidence aimed at proving that the voting process was compromised in the contested areas due to material diversion and disruptions attributed to the alleged bypass of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machine.

The petitioners, having called four witnesses to support their case, requested an adjournment to gather additional testimonies.

With no objection from the respondents, the tribunal’s three-member panel, chaired by Justice Adekunle Adeleye, scheduled Monday and Tuesday of the following week to continue the trial.

Following the petitioners’ presentation, Governor Diri, Deputy Governor Ewhrujakpo, and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) are expected to commence their defense, marking the next phase in the tribunal’s examination of the contested election results.