Supreme Court affirms Bayelsa gov's election, dismisses Sylva's appeal

The governorship election of Senator Duoye Diri in Bayelsa State has bern upheld by the Supreme Court in abuja.

On Friday, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of Timipre Sylva, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the November 11, 2023 off-cycle election.

A Supreme Court panel of five justices led by Justice Lawal Garba upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal of July 15 which dismissed Sylva’s appeal as an abuse of Court process for filing two notices of appeal.

The apex court cited a section of the 1999 Constitution, saying the APC Governorship candidate has only one right to appeal the judgment of the Tribunal and not multiple appeals.

Consequently, the Court dismissed the appeal of the APC Governorship candidate for filing two notices of appeal.

In a unanimous judgment, Supreme Court dismissed the appeal as lacking merit.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared that governor Duoye Diri of the PDP garnered a total of 175,196 votes to defeat his closest rival, Timipre Sylva of the APC who polled 110,108 votes.