Diri woos Alaibe, others as court affirms him Bayelsa governor

Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has extended an olive branch to his kinsman, Ndutimi Alaibe and other aggrieved contestants of last year’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial primary, urging them to forget the past and join him in building a virile state.

Reacting to the affirmation of his (Diri’s) candidature in the November 16, 2019 poll by a Federal High Court sitting in Owerri, Imo State, the governor, in a statement by his Acting Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, said in the spirit of unity, Alaibe and other aggrieved aspirants and party faithful should join him to develop the state.

Alaibe had contested Diri’s emergence as winner of the primary, citing irregularities during the exercise.

But ruling yesterday in the Imo capital, the presiding judge, Justice Tijani Ringim, in dismissing the suit filed by the former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) challenging the governor’s nomination, held that the plaintiff could not prove his case beyond reasonable doubt.

Diri, in the statement, said: “I received judgment of the Federal High Court as yet another affirmation of the will of God. It is victory for the people of Bayelsa, and indeed, the Ijaw nation. So, there is no victor nor vanquished.

“In the spirit of our unity and the love we share, I again extend the olive branch to all Bayelsans, including my dear brother, Chief Ndutimi Alaibe, to join hands with me to develop and move our state forward.

“My resolve is that together with all Bayelsans of goodwill, we can make our state greater.”

Alaibe, who is from same Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Council with the governor, had sought redress over the outcome of the September 3,2019 primary of the ruling party in the state.