Governor Douye Diri Urges Supreme Court to Dismiss Sylva's Appeal in Bayelsa Gubernatorial Election

 Governor Douye Diri has requested the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal filed against his election by Timipre Sylva, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Bayelsa State gubernatorial election.

During Monday's proceedings, Diri, represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Chris Uche, argued that Sylva's appeal lacked merit and was fundamentally flawed, as it was unsupported by any witness or documents. He maintained that the appeal should be entirely dismissed.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), represented by Charles Edoshomwan, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), represented by SAN Tayo Oyetibo, both supported the call for the dismissal of Sylva's appeal due to its lack of merit.

Conversely, Sylva, represented by SAN Onyechi Ikpeazu, urged the Supreme Court to overturn the judgments of the Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, which had previously dismissed his petition. Sylva asked the court to invalidate INEC's declaration of Diri as the winner of the gubernatorial election and to declare him the lawful winner.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the Supreme Court panel, led by Justice Garba Lawal, deferred its judgment to a date that will be communicated to the parties involved.