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Tag: Diri

  • I’ve instructed my lawyers to appeal tribunal ruling – Bayelsa Gov

    I’ve instructed my lawyers to appeal tribunal ruling – Bayelsa Gov

    Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has said he will appeal Monday’s ruling of the state election petition tribunal sitting in Abuja and has consequently instructed his lawyers to file the necessary papers.

    In a press release by his acting chief press secretary, Daniel Alabrah, the governor who spoke shortly after the tribunal ruled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) wrongly excluded the Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party (ANDP) governorship candidate in the November 16, 2009 election, said he has implicit confidence in the judiciary that he would triumph in the end.

    His words: “We trust in the judiciary and we are appealing the judgement. With God on our side, we will get justice.

    “This is a court of the first instance and I have instructed our lawyers to file an appeal. We have a right to appeal even up to the Supreme Court.”

    The governor urged members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his supporters not to panic and to continue to remain calm and law-abiding.

  • Alaibe’s congratulatory message insulting, unacceptable – Diri

    Alaibe’s congratulatory message insulting, unacceptable – Diri

    The Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, has condemned as half-hearted the congratulatory message of Ndutimi Alaibe following last Tuesday’s Supreme Court’s dismissal of his appeal.

     

    He said that Alaibe, who was an aspirant in the September 3, 2019 Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship primary that he (Diri) won, went too far in his bid to unseat him.

     

    A statement by the acting Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Daniel Alabrah, said Diri rejected Alaibe’s felicitations while addressing the State Working Committee of the PDP, which paid him a solidarity visit in Government House, Yenagoa, on Monday.

     

    The statement quoted Diri as describing Alaibe’s statement issued by his personal assistant, Enize Ogio, as “insulting and totally unacceptable.”

     

    Diri, who demanded a new message from Alaibe, noted that in line with the Supreme Court judgement, nobody was bigger than the party, including himself.

     

    The governor was quoted as saying, “I hereby reject that insulting message from one Enize Ogio. I hereby reject it in totality, and the PDP rejects it too. If they accept our olive branch, they should issue a new statement to let the PDP and the government of Bayelsa know that they are still members of our party.”

     

  • BREAKING: Supreme Court dismisses Alaibe’s suit against Bayelsa gov, Diri

    BREAKING: Supreme Court dismisses Alaibe’s suit against Bayelsa gov, Diri

    The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the appeal filed by a governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party in Bayelsa State, Timi Alaibe, challenging the emergence of Governor Duoye Diri as the party’s candidate in the last year’s election.

    A five-man panel of the apex court led by Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour dismissed the appeal.

    Alaibe’s lawyer, Chief Ifedayo Adedipe, withdrew the appeal after the panel members pointed his attention to the fact that the issues raised in the appeal were not about the primary election but about an internal affair of the party.

    Alaibe, who had lost the suit at both the Federal High Court in Owerri and the Port Harcourt Division of the Court of Appeal, had in the suit challenged the participation of two delegates who voted in the primary that produced Diri as the party’s candidate.

    In the preliminary inquiry preceding the hearing on Tuesday, the Justice Rhodes-Vivour panel informed Adedipe that his case could not be categorised as a pre-election case that a court could entertain but about an internal affair of the party which the court lacked jurisdiction to hear.

    Adedipe then withdrew the suit and was struck out by the court.

  • Appeal Court affirms Diri as Bayelsa governor, dismisses Alaibe’s suit

    Appeal Court affirms Diri as Bayelsa governor, dismisses Alaibe’s suit

    The court of appeal sitting in Owerri, Imo state on Tuesday dismissed an appeal filed by Ndutimi Alaibe which challenged the emergence of Douye Diri as the winner of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) primary election in Bayelsa.

    Alaibe, who was also a governorship aspirant of the PDP for the 2019 election, had instituted a suit against the party, Diri and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the federal high court in Owerri.

    The Court which on Tuesday affirmed the judgment of the lower court, dismissed the suit for lacking merit.

    It would be recalled that Diri was on February 13, pronounced as Bayelsa state governor after the Supreme Court sacked David Lyon less than 24 hours before his inauguration as governor of the state.

    The apex court faulted Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, his running mate, for submitting forged credentials with multiple names to INEC.

    Alaibe had dragged the governor and the @inecnigeria to court over what he described as a ‘flawed process’ of the PDP primary.

    But a High Court judge Tijjani Ringim, had on March 10, dismissed Alaibe’s suit for lacking merit.

    According to him, “Evidence available to me indicates that the process leading to the emergence of Diri as the candidate of the PDP in the September 3 governorship primaries in Bayelsa was legitimate.”

    “I hereby dismiss this suit for lack of merit.”

    Not satisfied with the ruling, Alaibe proceeded to the Court of Appeal.

  • COVID-19: NNPC commences construction of 200-Bed infectious diseases hospital in Yenagoa

    COVID-19: NNPC commences construction of 200-Bed infectious diseases hospital in Yenagoa

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)-led Oil & Gas Industry Intervention Initiative on COVID-19 over the weekend began the third phase of their support programme with the ground breaking ceremony for a permanent Emergency and Infectious Diseases Hospital for the South-South Region in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

    A release today in Abuja by NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, stated that the event flagged–off the plan by the intervention group to deliver lasting medical infrastructure across the six-geopolitical zones in the Country.

    Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources who spoke at the event affirmed that the project was part of the Nigerian Oil Industry Coalition initiative led by the NNPC to support the nation’s efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

    He reiterated that the Oil Industry was contributing about N21billion worth of support provided through internal procurement processes of contributing companies.

    Chief Sylva said that Bayelsa State was considered a suitable site for the project given its pioneering role in the history of Oil and Gas in the Country and its current contribution of about 40 per cent to onshore crude oil output.

    The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, who spoke through the corporation’s Group General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), who is also the coordinator of the initiative in the Petroleum Industry, Mr. Bala Wunti, disclosed that the corporation was working with its Joint Venture partners across the Upstream, Midstream and Downstream sectors to support the Health Sector.

    He said that the NNPC-led intervention had allocated the N21billion-worth of support to various International Oil Companies, Indigenous operators with Joint Venture stakes across the oil sector.

    He explained that the infectious diseases hospital to be sited on a 1,586 square metre-space would serve as zonal isolation centre for COVID-19 and would serve as a referral hospital for communicable diseases after the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Mr Lorenzo Fiorillo, Managing Director, Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) stated at the event that the outbreak of COVID-19 disease had put a lot of strain on healthcare systems and personnel globally.

    Mr. Fiorillo who spoke through Mr Macwon Jitubo, Head of Community Relations, (NAOC,) said that the company remained sympathetic to help navigate the threat posed by COVID-19 pandemic, which he explained, had resulted in millions of deaths worldwide.

    He said the project being delivered in Bayelsa State would engender a valuable medical asset to the South South region of the Country.

    Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, who earlier applauded Sylva for attracting the project to the state, performed the ground-breaking ceremony in company of other dignitaries including Mr Chukwuemaka Nwajiobi, Minister of State for Education, who represented the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and Secretary to Government of Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha at the occasion,

    Dr. Kennie Obateru
    Group General Manager
    Group Public Affairs Division
    Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
    NNPC Towers
    Abuja

  • Keniebi Okoko’s death shocked me – Diri

    Keniebi Okoko’s death shocked me – Diri

    Gov. Douye Diri of Bayelsa said on Thursday in Yenagoa that he received the news of the sudden demise of Pastor Keniebi Okoko with great shock and pain.
    The governor, who described the late 42-year-old Okoko as an Ijaw icon, pillar and astute businessman, said Bayelsa, the Ijaw nation and indeed Nigeria has lost a man with great potential whose philanthropism and impact as a young politician would be greatly missed.
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Keniebi, son of former President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC) and former lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Kimse Okoko, died on Tuesday at a private hospital in Lagos.
    The governor commiserated with his family, aged parents, the Obunagha community of Gbarain Clan in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state.
    Diri recalled how Okoko was a co-contestant in the Sept. 4, 2019 governorship primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and made an impressive showing.
    “As a fellow aspirant in the course of the PDP governorship primary, I got to know him quite well, he said in a statement by his Acting Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Alabrah.
    “He always presented himself as a patriotic, intelligent, gentlemanly, courteous and devoted Christian. He was always passionate about the prosperity of our state.
    “I was therefore not surprised when I emerged winner of the primary election, Keniebi showed great sportsmanship by immediately congratulating me and collapsing his political structure into mine and worked energetically to ensure our victory.”
    He noted that Okoko’s death was a huge loss to the PDP family in Bayelsa, coming at a time the party had great hopes in him to further the frontiers of development of the state.
    He prayed God to comfort and grant his parents and immediate family the grace to bear this painful loss, adding that as ordinary mortals, we could not question God even at a time as this.
    His words: “The sudden passing of Pastor Keniebi Okoko came as a rude shock to me. It is equally painful just as it is tragic.
    “This is a terrible blow to Bayelsa and indeed the Ijaw nation. We have lost a pillar of support and a great patriot, who believed in and was always ready to contribute his quota to the development of our state. He will be greatly missed.
    “I commiserate with the Okoko family as well as the PDP family in Bayelsa over this painful loss of a young man with great potential.
    “As mortals, we cannot question the will of God even in death, no matter how painful it is.
    “Why his sun has set, so suddenly at noon is a mystery to all of us who love him. I pray God to grant us all the strength at this time and the grace to bear the pain of Keniebi’s sudden departure.
    “Nonetheless, we take solace in the words of Apostle Paul in Romans 14:8-9: If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord,” he added.
  • Buhari received me as one of his sons – Bayelsa Gov. Diri

    Buhari received me as one of his sons – Bayelsa Gov. Diri

    The Bayelsa State governor, Senator Douye Diri, met with President Muhammadu Buhari behind closed-doors on Tuesday.

    Addressing State House Correspondents after the meeting, the Bayelsa State governor said he was visiting the President privately, adding that it was his first call on him since he assumed office as governor.

    Describing his reception by President Buhari, Senator Siri said he was warmly received by the President, adding that it was like a father receiving his son.

    He said further that he planned on using the visit to forge a working relationship with the federal government, especially so that Bayelsa State could benefit from a positive relationship with the government at the centre, to gain peace, stability and development.

    “Since I resumed as Governor of Bayelsa State, precisely on the 14th of February, I have not come to see the father of the nation. Today I just did that: to come and see the father of our country and to work with the federal government of Nigeria in ensuring peace and stability in my state and ensuring the development of my state.

    “Mr. President received me as one of his sons, as a state governor and the reception was very warm. He went ahead to advice that he was happy that I came and that he was happy with the way I have started. He went on to say he has read about all the statements that I have made and the security so far in Bayelsa.

    “He promised as one of his sons, a state like Bayelsa that is critical to the security and peace in the Niger Delta, he was prepared to also work with me,” the governor said.

  • BREAKING: Court affirms Diri as Bayelsa governor, dismisses Timi Alibe’s suit

    BREAKING: Court affirms Diri as Bayelsa governor, dismisses Timi Alibe’s suit

    A Federal High Court on Tuesday affirmed Governor Douye Diri as the authentic Governorship Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in Bayelsa state.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) had reported that a former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Timi Alaibe, approached the court to seek redress over the outcome of the governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Alaibe approached the Federal High Court in Yenagoa Judicial Division, Bayelsa State, with an application for cancellation of the result of the primary election based on cited procedural flaws.

    The suit filed pursuant to Order 3(9) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019, sought answers to questions bordering on alleged non-adherence to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    But ruling on Tuesday, Justice Tijani Ringim in a judgment which lasted for about two hours, dismissed the case.

    The court dismissed the suit for lacking in merit, adding that the PDP followed all the constitutional requirements to conduct the primary and subsequent emergence of Diri as the rightful candidate of the party.

    The trial judge, Justice Tijani Rigim also ruled that Mr Alaibe shouldn’t have even approached the court in the first instance since PDP had met all the requirements.

  • Tension in Bayelsa as court determine Diri, Alaibe’s fate tomorrow

    Tension in Bayelsa as court determine Diri, Alaibe’s fate tomorrow

    There is another political tension brewing in Bayelsa State as the judgment on a pending suit over the disputed governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) .

    The suit filed by for former managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and one-time Presidential Adviser on Amnesty Programme, Chief Timi Alaibe is contesting the electoral process that produced Governor Douye Diri as governor of Bayelsa State.

    The case between Diri and Alaibe comes up (Tomorrow) Tuesday, March 10 at the Federal High Court, Owerri in the suit challenging his eligibility, validity and legality.

    Alaibe is calling for the voiding of Diri’s candidature on grounds that it was illegally, inappropriately and ineligibly procured.

    Chief Alaibe who is urging the court to declare him(Alaibe winner) because he complied with the eligibility and legal requirements known to law and the party guidelines for emergence of governorship candidates, posits that Diri, on the contrary, violated those provisions known to Law and the party guidelines.

    Alaibe is said to anchor a major plank of his case on grounds that the PDP consequently committed electoral, and constitutional illegality by blatantly allowing local government chairmen, councilors , and all shades of ineligible persons to vote during the PDP governorship primaries in sharp contrast, and utter violation of the party’s guidelines which do not permit elected chairmen and councilors elected within 90 days to the election, to vote during governorship primaries.

    Sources hinted that this development has thrown up much anxiety in Bayelsa State with the camps of former Governor Seriake Dickson and Governor Diri allegedly reaching out to former President Olusegun Obasanjo to reportedly prevail on the former NDDC helmsman to soft-pedal and pick up the Senate seat vacated by Diri, preparatory for a fresh governorship contest in 2023.

    Recall that Diri, had visited former President Obasanjo at Abeokuta around 5:45 pm last week Sunday, and held a closed-door meeting with the former Nigerian leader for about 20 minutes. On the visit, the Bayelsa Governor was quoted as saying: “I have come to greet my father, our father, who is actually the father of Nigeria and Africa. I have come to felicitate him on his forthcoming birthday.”

    Recall that the Supreme Court had recently declared PDP as winner of the Bayelsa State governorship polls, which had Diri as its candidate in the November 16 governorship election. The Supreme court’s decision had invalidated Chief David Lyon of the All Progressives Congress (APC) election who was earlier declared as the winner and governor-elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the Bayelsa State governorship elections.

     

  • Adeboye told me I would recover my mandate – Diri

    Adeboye told me I would recover my mandate – Diri

    Bayelsa State Governor Duoye Diri has said he visited the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, during his election travails.

    Diri said this on Friday at the church’s international headquarters along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway during the ‘Testimony Session’ at the church’s monthly meeting. “I contested in the governorship election in Bayelsa State in November 2019 and thereafter I was alleged to have lost the election.

    “I promptly rejected those results and continued with the judicial process in Nigeria. “During the process, I visited this church on the 11th of December during the programme of the Great Turn Around. “After the service, I went to see Daddy G.O. He prayed for me and thereafter, he said, ‘It is well. Go and when you receive it, come back to the church’.

    “The judicial processes continued until the 14th of February about 24 hours to the swearing-in ceremony of the alleged winner. Brethren, a miracle was accomplished. The Supreme Court declared me the winner of that election. “I have come to give Him (God) the glory and to return the glory to Him and to Him alone. “I want to thank Daddy G.O. and all of you who stood with me in prayers. “Today, I am the governor of Bayelsa State,” Diri told the congregation.