Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Bayelsa State and former Minister of State, Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, has rejected the judgement of the Bayelsa Governorship Election Tribunal which upheld the election of Douye Diri as governor.

Not satisfied with the tribunal’s judgment, Sylva convened a closed-door meeting with APC elders and stakeholders to discuss the next line of action.

After the meeting, the APC flagbearer directed his legal team to seek redress at the Court of Appeal.

“We are not satisfied with the decision of the tribunal. But this is just a court of first instance and after meeting with the elders and critical stakeholders of our great party, the APC, we directed our legal team to seek justice for Bayelsa at the Supreme Court,” he said.

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Sylva assured the people of Bayelsa that the appellate court would surely correct the travesty of justice perpetrated by the tribunal.

The APC candidate noted that Bayelsa’s liberation was close, adding that justice was inevitable for the traumatized people of the state and appealed to them to remain positive, law-abiding, and steadfast.

During the tribunal’s sitting, Sylva had accused its members of bias following several infractions observed by his lawyers during the hearing of the case.

He later filed an interlocutory appeal demanding the dissolution of the panel and reconstitution of a new one, but his petition was dismissed by the President of the Court of Appeal.

The tribunal had earlier upheld the election that produced Diri as the state governor.

A three-man panel led by Justice Adekunle Adeleye dismissed Sylva and his party’s petition for lacking merit.

The tribunal, in a unanimous decision, held that the petitioners failed to prove any credible evidence to prove any of the allegations they raised against Diri’s re-election.

The tribunal held that the prayers of the petitioners were contradictory.