The Bayelsa Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja Monday reportedly nullified the election of Governor Duoye Diri.
The Justice Mohammed Sirajo-led three-man panel ruled that the election was unlawful due to the exclusion of Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party and its candidate, King George, from the November 16, 2019 governorship election.
The tribunal ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a bye-election within 90 days.
The tribunal had only on August 15 affirmed the election of Senator Diri as Bayelsa State governor.
The three-man panel took the decision on Saturday a month after the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal filed by a former aspirant of the Bayelsa governorship election under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Timi Alaibe, challenging the candidacy of Senator Diri in the November 2019 election.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Owodunni, the tribunal had held that the petition filed by Mr Owei Woniwei of the Alliance for Democracy is incompetent and lacks merit.