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 Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degree in political science in 1990.
On 13 February 2020, the Supreme Court of Nigeria invalidated the results of the 2019 Bayelsa State 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 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.
On 17 August 2020, a tribunal at Abuja, Nigeria, ordered Diri sacked as the state governor.
Duoye Diri is the incumbent Governor of Bayelsa State, having assumed office in February 2020. He was declared governor by the Supreme Court after the nullification of the previous election results.
He was re-elected for a second term in November 2023. A member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he previously served as the Senator representing Bayelsa Central Senatorial District (2019-2020) and as a member of the House of Representatives (2015-2019).
