Bayelsa Residents Protest Tribunal’s Nullification Of Diri’s Victory.

TRACKING____Scores of student groups, market women and non-Indigenes in Bayelsa State on Wednesday trooped out to protest the majority ruling of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal nullifying the governorship election of the state.

The tribunal, sitting in Abuja, had orderded a fresh election within 90 days over a petition filed by the Advance Nigeria Democratic Party (ANDP).
But the protesting group declared their total support for the decision of Governor Douye Diri to seek redress at the Appeal Court over the Tribunal verdict, declaring that they have confidence in the higher court to quash the verdict of the tribunal.
The student groups, made up of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the National Union of Bayelsa State Students (NUBSS), led other groups of market women and non-indigenes associations in the state, said the rejection of the verdict is based on the need for political stability and proactive development in the state.
According to the protesters, who carried placards with inscription such as “We say no to sponsored verdicts” and “Nembe people rejected disruption of governance in Bayelsa”, the verdict of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal is a clear attempt to disrupt the ongoing good policies of the present administration on prompt payment of workers’ salary, pension payment and anticipated development.

Comrade Jacob Keneth (NANS, Bayelsa) said: “As students and intellectuals, we want to totally condemn and reject the verdict of the Election Petition Tribunal because Governor Douye Diri is doing well and as student, we believe in his educational policy.
“And we believe that the present administration has come to salvage the plight of the Nigerian students in Bayelsa State. We call on the judiciary that the Nigerian students say no to the tribunal actions and we declare our support for the governor.”