Douye Diri (born 4 June 1959) is a Nigerian politician and

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Bayelsa State Bayelsa is one of the states in the South-South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. Yenag ...

. He was the senator representing Bayelsa Central senatorial district of

Bayelsa Bayelsa is one of the states in the South-South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. Yenag ...

state at the Nigerian

9th National Assembly 9th National Assembly may refer to: * 9th National Assembly of France * 9th National Assembly of Laos * 9th National Assembly of Nigeria * 9th National Assembly of Pakistan 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution ...

Early life

Douye Diri began his early education at Okoro Primary School, Sampou and concluded it at Rev. Proctor Memorial Primary School, Kaiama in 1977, where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate. He later attended Government Secondary School, Odi in Bayelsa. Douye studied at the College of Education, Port-Harcourt, Rivers State where he obtained a National Certificate in Education (NCE) in 1985. He also attended the University of Port-Harcourt obtaining a Bachelors of Education (B.Ed) Degree in Political Science in 1990.

Governor of Bayelsa

On 13 February 2020, the

Supreme Court of Nigeria The Supreme Court of Nigeria (SCN) is the highest court in Nigeria, and is located in the Central District, Abuja, in what is known as the Three Arms Zone, so called due to the proximity of the offices of the Presidential Complex, the National Ass ...

invalidated the results of the 2019

gubernatorial elections on grounds that the running mate of the actual winner of the election, David Lyon, submitted a confidential certificate to the

Independent National Electoral Commission The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was established in 1998 and is the electoral body which oversees elections in Nigeria. History Regulation and administration of elections The administration of democratic elections in Nige ...

. The court ordered Diri to be issued a certificate of return, which would make him governor-elect. On 14 February 2020, he was sworn-in as the governor of Bayelsa State.

August 2020 court rulings

On 17 August 2020, a tribunal at

Abuja, Nigeria Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

, ordered Diri sacked as the state governor. However, on 2 October 2020, a court of appeal sitting in Abuja overruled the tribunal court and confirmed him as Governor.

Airport security controversy

In August 2021, it was reported that Diri and his aides had enforced their way through security checkpoints at

Murtala Muhammed International Airport Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) ( yo, Pápá Ọkọ̀ Òfurufú Káríayé Múrítàlá Mùhammẹ̀d) is an international airport located in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria, and is the major airport serving the entire state. The ai ...

while trying to board the inaugural

United Nigeria Airlines United Nigeria Airlines Limited, trading as United Nigeria Airlines, , is a private airline in Nigeria. The new start-up received its Air Operators Certificate (AOC), on 1 February 2021. Headquartered in the city of Enugu, with an office in A ...

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

-to-

Yenagoa Yenagoa is a Local Government Area and capital city of Bayelsa State, southern Nigeria. It is located at the southern part of the country at coordinates . The LGA has an area of 706 km² and a population of 352,285 at the 2006 census. Th ...

flight.

References

Living people 1959 births Governors of Bayelsa State Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians {{Nigeria-politician-stub

Early life

Governor of Bayelsa

August 2020 court rulings

Airport security controversy

See also

References