The validity of the election of Governor Duoye Diri, which was annulled by a lower court, has formerly kicked off at the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja.
On Thursday, September 24, the Court of Appeal heard the prayers of Governor asking the court to reverse the decision of the Bayelsa Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which nullified the Nov.16, 2019 governorship poll in the state.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also filed the same suit, urging the court to reverse the decision of the lower court.
Still on the appeal, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), also asked that the ruling of the election petition tribunal should be set aside.
All the appellants asked the Appeal Court to uphold that the conduct of the governorship was validly held, and Governor Diri righty announced as the Governor.
Chris Uche, (SAN), leads the team for Diri. He told the court that the case of the first respondent (Advanced Nigerian Democratic Party (ANDP)) was statute barred as at the time it was filed.
Uche argued that ANDP was in breach of the 1999 Constitution as it was based on an attempt to field two under aged candidates for governor and deputy governor.
Uche said when INEC disqualified the ANDP from participating in the election in October 2019, the party did not challenge the disqualification until February 2020.
He further asserted that the suit in February meant that it was filed more than five months later as against the 14 days allowed by law.
The SAN prayed the court to set aside the majority decision of the tribunal which nullified Diri’s election and uphold the minority judgment saying it was based on sound reasoning and law.
Lawyer for the PDP, Yunus Ustaz , SAN, said that if the court upheld the judgment of the tribunal and a rerun was ordered, the ANDP had nothing to gain since the case had become academic.
For INEC, it was Ibrahim Bawa, SAN, who said that the INEC had the power to screen and disqualify any candidate wrongly nominated by a political party.
But ANDP counsel, Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, urged the court to uphold the majority decision of the tribunal.
He argued that the candidate of the ANDP was lawfully nominated and it was conveyed to INEC.