Our Reporter
The Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, lamented some skirmishes in Sagbama and Ekeremor but expressed confidence in INEC saying the ongoing election was better than the last governorship election in the state.
Sylva, who spoke while casting his vote at Dukuraku polling unit 04, ward 04, at about 12:40 pm, in his country home, Okpoama, in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Sylva said: “I have voted and it is a peaceful election in Ward 4 Okpoama. As you can see, I have been confined to my Ward and election has been smooth so far.
“I heard that there are few skirmishes here and there in Sagbama and Ekeremor. I have not heard of any other problem here in Bayelsa State.
“As for the INEC, they have been progressively improving and every year the processes are improved and I think we have a better outing for INEC this time. And I believe that this election will be better than the last one.
“I have always been confident, I have said it many times that the APC is the preferred party in Bayelsa. I am sure that we will win.”
Also, the candidate of APC, Chief David Lyon, who voted in Olugbobiri Community in Southern Local Government Area, described the election process as peaceful so far, saying the INEC did a better job this time.
While expressing confidence that his party, APC, would emerge victorious at the end of the poll, Lyon called on security agents to remain neutral and professional.
However, the candidate of the PDP, Senator Douye Diri, accused the APC of sponsoring thugs that allegedly hijacked election materials in Ekeremor and Southern Ijaw LGAs.
He said: “I had earlier raised the alarm about Bassambiri in Nembe. From the reports I have, no PDP agent is allowed into Nembe Bassambiri. At Enewari, the report I have is that the APC went there with thugs to hijack materials.
“At Opolo Community in Yenagoa Local Government Area, the APC went there with thugs, the same goes for other LGAs where the APC is creating crisis for our members.
“We are calling on the umpire INEC that they should be alive to their responsibilities because we have received reports from several other Wards and other Local Government Areas where they need to invoke their powers.
“They should invoke their powers of either not accepting cooked up results from where materials have being hijacked. Secondly, we call on security agencies to be alive to their duties and not to take sides with the APC which are the reports that we have started receiving.
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“Let them be professional in their conduct, let them be neutral so that the election will be credible, transparent and open so that our party members will not be harassed or intimidated.”
A former Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Ndutimi Alaibe, also lauded the people of Opokuma in Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area for their peaceful conduct during the governorship election in the area.
Alaibe, after casting his vote at his Igbainwari unit in Opokuma said: “What we have started out here is to ensure that the electioneering process is free, fair and credible and it has happened here again.
“You can see there is no ballot snatching, nobody is fighting anybody, it has been a peaceful process that should be emulated across our state.
“As a peace advocate, I am happy when I see things happened seamlessly. INEC has managed to do the right thing today. So, in this unit where I voted it is peaceful and seamless. We thanked INEC and all the bodies including the media and civil societies for a peaceful conduct.”
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