Diri Douye

Douye Diri was born on 4 June 1959 and began his early education at Okoro Primary School, Sampou, before completing it at Rev. Proctor Memorial Primary School, Kaiama, in 1977.

He later attended Government Secondary School, Odi, in Bayelsa, and later pursued further education at the College of Education, Port-Harcourt, obtaining a National Certificate in Education (NCE) in 1985.

Douye studied at the University of Port-Harcourt, earning a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) in political science in 1990.

In 2019, Douye Diri served as a senator for Bayelsa Central Senatorial District in the 9th National Assembly.

The 2019 Bayelsa State gubernatorial election results were invalidated by the Supreme Court on February 13, 2020, due to allegations by David Lyon’s running mate about a confidential certificate submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The court issued a certificate of return to Diri, making him governor-elect, and he was sworn in on February 14, 2020.

A tribunal in Abuja later ordered Diri’s removal as governor on August 17, 2020, but the Court of Appeal overruled this on October 20, 2020, confirming his governorship.

In August 2021, reports indicated that Diri and his aides bypassed airport security checkpoints to board a flight to Yenagoa.