Gov Diri Speaks After Supreme Court Rested Alaibe’s Bid To Unseat Him

Senator Douye Diri, Governor of Bayelsa State, has described his victory at the Supreme Court against a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) in the state, Ndutimi Alaibe, as the triumph of democracy.

Governor Diri spoke to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday shortly after the apex court dismissed the Alaibe’s appeal challenging his victory at the September 3, 2019 governorship primary election of the PDP.

Senator Diri, in a statement by his acting Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, averred that the judiciary remains the last hope of the common man in the country.

“Clearly and transparently, the Justices have displayed uprightness. They have also displayed that the Supreme Court is indeed the last court in Nigeria.

“I want to appreciate them and I believe and pray that God will continue to guide them, use them to do justice to all manner of people.”

He also appreciated Bayelsans home and abroad as well as lovers of the state government for their prayers and promised not to fail them.

BIGPEN reports that Alaibe’s bid to unseat the governor hit the brick walls after the apex court noted that the appeal was without merit.

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This has brought to an end the appeal marked: SC/248/2020, sought to among others, set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which upheld the declaration of Diri as the winner of the governorship primary of the PDP held on September 3, 2019 for lacking in merit.

Alaibe had argued among others that the PDP committed electoral and constitutional illegality by blatantly allowing local government chairmen, councillors and all shades of ineligible persons to vote during the PDP governorship primaries in utter violation of the party’s guidelines which do not permit elected chairmen and councillors elected within 90 days to the election, to vote during governorship primaries.

At the mention of the appeal on Tuesday, a five-man panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour noted that the appeal was without merit.

The court’s panel also identified some other defects in the appeal and concluded the appeal did not fall within the purview of a pre-election matter, but an internal affair of a political party, which it has no jurisdiction to entertain.

Realising the observations of the court, Alaibe’s lawyer, Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN) applied to withdraw the appeal, following which the court dismissed it.

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