The fresh row over the Bayelsa election is taking a new turn as Douye Diri has filed an appeal against the controversial verdict of the election tribunal which sacked him as governor of the state.
It would be recalled that the election of the governor was nullified by the Bayelsa governorship election petitions tribunal on Monday, August 17, alongside his deputy.
The judgment was delivered by a three-man panel presided by Justice Ibrahim Sirajo following a petition filed against the governor and his party by the Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party (ANDP).
The panel nullified the process on the grounds that the ANDP was unlawfully excluded from participating in the November 16, 2019 governorship election having been duly registered.
The tribunal said it found merit in the petition and consequently nullified the election and also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a bye-election in the state within 90 days.
In a reaction, Governor Diri on Tuesday, August 18, said he has filed a notice of appeal containing 11 grounds.
Speaking through his counsel Chris Uche, the embattled governor said the tribunal erred in law when it held that ANDP’s petition was not statute-barred.
