On Saturday, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal dismissed a petition from the Labour Party and its governorship candidate, Udengmobofa Eradiri, contesting the election of Governor Duoye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party as the governor of Bayelsa State.
A three-man panel delivered the judgment, upholding the tribunal’s decision to dismiss the Labour Party’s petition for lack of merit. The appellate court agreed with the tribunal’s ruling that the petition was abandoned because it was not signed by either the petitioners or their counsel, as required by law.
Additionally, the court stated that the issue of alleged forged documents attached to the form EC8 submitted to INEC by the third respondent was a pre-election matter and should not have been brought before the tribunal. The panel concluded that Eradiri and his party failed to prove their allegations of non-qualification and certificate forgery against Governor Diri and his deputy, as stated in their petition.
As a result, the appeal panel imposed a cost of two hundred thousand Naira against the appellant, in favor of each respondent in the appeal.