Goodluck Jonathan Congratulates Governor Douye Diri, Urges Him To Unite Bayelsa People

Former president, Goodluck Jonathan has congratulated newly sworn-in governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, for his victory at the Supreme Court.

In a congratulatory message to the governor via his Twitter page, Jonathan asked Diri to build bridges of unity by entrenching a culture of love, fairness and justice in our polity in the oil-rich state.

“I congratulate His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri who was sworn in today as the 5th Civilian Governor of Bayelsa State, in compliance with the Supreme court verdict of yesterday, 13th February 2020,” he wrote.

“As Governor, the responsibility of building hope and sustaining peace across the State now lies on your shoulders.

“I urge you to always bear in mind that you are the Governor of all Bayelsans and to seize this moment of glory to build bridges of unity by entrenching a culture of love, fairness and justice in our polity.

“Your journey to Creek Haven is a divine one, so I advise you to use the position to do good to humanity and pursue the development of the State in order to write your name in gold.

“You have worked with me before as a commissioner, so I am without doubt that you will live up to the expectations of our people.”

The Supreme Court had on Thursday sacked David Lyon of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who was initially declared winner of the November 2019 governorship election in the state.

David Lyon’s election victory was nullified because his running mate (deputy), Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, presented a forged certificate to the INEC.

The Supreme Court held that since Degi-Eremieoyo shared a joint ticket with the David Lyon, his disqualification invalidated their election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday morning had issued a certificate of return to Douye Diri in compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate was sworn in as new Bayelsa governor on Friday evening.