The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Bayelsa poll

  • Bayelsa poll: Police arrest suspects during clash

    Bayelsa poll: Police arrest suspects during clash

    The Bayelsa Police Command said on Saturday that normalcy had been restored in Oporoma, headquarters of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.

    The Public Relations Officer of the command, Mr Asinim Butswat, an ASP, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa.

    Butswat said the command had received report of a clash by rival groups which disrupted the electoral process in the area.

    He said one person was injured during the clash, while the police arrested some suspects in the process.

    “ We have made some arrests and normalcy has been restored in the area. Security reinforcement was sent to Oporoma and we can say that the electoral process had commenced there, “ he said.

    He said information available to the police showed that no life was lost during the clash.

    He also said that accreditation had commenced in some parts of the area.

    “ We are recording success in other local government areas such as Brass, Nembe, Sagbama, Kolokuma/Opokuma and Yenagoa,’’ the police spokesman said.

    He said the governorship election in these areas had been peaceful while security agents were on high alert to check any breach of the law.

  • Bayelsa poll: Sylva condemns violent attacks

    The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, has condemned the attacks on him and his supporters by suspected thugs in the state.

    At least four journalists from The Nation, The Punch and The Guardian newspapers (names withheld) narrowly escaped being killed by gunshots fired by thugs on Friday.

    Sylva, who spoke through the Director, Media and Publicity of Sylva-Igiri Campaign Organisation, Chief Nathan Egba, condemned the armed thugs, whom he accused of causing havoc in eight local government areas of the state during the election.

    He said: “Four journalists on the train of Chief Sylva were missing in Odioma for several hours after the gunshots from thugs. It took the efforts of the JTF (Operation Pulo Shield) and local vigilance group to rescue the journalists from their hiding late night of Friday.

    “The unknown faces now in most of the riverine communities of Bayelsa State have been terrorising the people with gunshots to scare people away from the polling units.”

     

  • Card reader rejects Dickson, wife, mother

    Card reader rejects Dickson, wife, mother

    Although a vote was yet to be cast in the Bayelsa State Governorship election, Governor Seriake Dickson, candidate of the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), has vowed to contest the result of the election.

    Dickson and his family members were rejected by card reader and were manually accredited at 10:45am.

    He reaffirmed his allegation that the All Progressive Congress (APC) led Federal Government plans to rig the election and vowed to contest the outcome, if any section of the electoral law is contravened.

    Dickson, his wife and mother were manually accredited at 10: 45 am in his community Toru-Orua in Ward 2, Unit 4, due to failure of the card reader.

     

  • INEC officials held hostage in Oporoma

    Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are currently being held hostage, along with the electoral materials for Saturday’s poll, at coastal Oporoma, the headquarters of Southern Ijaw local government area of Bayelsa State by armed youths, who are shooting sporadically into the air.

    At least 30 militants have already been arrested by the police.

    The INEC officials are still in Oporoma.

    Meanwhile, electoral materials earlier snatched at Ward 6, Sagbama local government area of the state, have now been recovered by the police.

  • Thugs arrested in Southern Ijaw LGA

    The commissioner of police CP Nasiru Oki confirmed to our reporter on phone interview that some thugs have been arrested, weapons and guns recovered in connection of the shooting in southern Ijaw LGA and Okpoama community, the home town of APC candidate Timipre Sylva in Brass Local government.

  • Card reader fails to recognize Jonathan again

    Card reader fails to recognize Jonathan again

    Just like what happened during the March 28 presidential poll, the card reader failed to recognize the fingerprint of former President Goodluck Jonathan during the accreditation process for Saturday’s governorship election in Bayelsa.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials thereafter left the polling to bring another machine for him.

    The former president and his wife, Patience, were eventually accredited at 10: 13am.

    Speaking with journalists after his accreditation, Jonathan called for a peaceful election and asked the people of the state to support INEC in its bid to ensure a smooth electoral process.

  • Bayelsa: Gun shots rock Oporoma

    There were gun shots in Oporoma, headquarters of Southern Ijaw local government area of Bayelsa, ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in the state.

    The development forced many residents of the area to stay indoors.

  • Accreditation ongoing in Bayelsa poll

    Accreditation for Saturday’s governorship election has started in some local government areas of the state.

    At the Okpoama home town of All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Timipre Silva, several voters turned out at the polling units as early as 7:00am.

    Voters at Ewuoama and Twon Brass are bustling with excitement in anticipation of a smooth electoral process.

     

  • Why Bayelsa must vote out PDP – Oshiomhole

    Why Bayelsa must vote out PDP – Oshiomhole

    The Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, has asked the people of Bayelsa State to vote out the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Saturday’s governorship election in the state.

    Oshiomhole said despite the massive natural endowments of the state, the PDP subjected the people to hardship and made them labour in vain under its umbrella.

    The Edo governor, who spoke in Yenagoa during Tuesday’s final mega rally of APC, said it was time for Bayelsa to join the broom revolution by voting for the APC on Saturday.

    He said the candidate of the APC, Chief Timipre Sylva, had been tested and known to have performed better than the candidate of the PDP and Governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson.

    According to him, Bayelsa cannot afford to be in the opposition to guarantee massive development in all sectors.

    He said: “We want Bayelsa to fulfill its promises to the people. So, Sylva has been here, he has worked for you, he knows you and you know him too. You have tested his integrity.

    “All of us in the APC family are unanimous that with Sylva, the pace of development in Bayelsa will change, more money will be invested in education, more jobs will be created and businesses will be located here.

    “So we will work religiously and create jobs that are meaningful, that are sustainable. When we look at the faces here, we see a bundle of energetic men and women who are creative, energetic, resourceful, and what you need is a leadership that can fire your imagination.

    “I don’t want to be the only South- South governor from APC. I also want to have a brother, a brother that is taller than me. Vote for change and then you will know that is the beginning of good things to come into this state.

    “Therefore, on behalf of your brothers and sisters in Edo State, we will give our solidarity, our support our prayer and may change come on Saturday so that Bayelsa will grow from strength to strength.”

     

  • Guber poll: Arase, INEC chairman in Bayelsa

    Guber poll: Arase, INEC chairman in Bayelsa

    ... Promise rancor-free poll

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmud Yakubu and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Solomon Arase, on Tuesday said they were ready for Saturday’s governorship election in Bayelsa State.

    They duo were in Yenagoa, the state capital, to meet with stakeholders in the election and to address issues surrounding the poll.

    Yakubu and the IGP stopped briefly at the police command, Yenagoa, and left for a stakeholders’ meeting involving all the parties in the election at Otiotio area of the state capital.

    Speaking to journalists before leaving the command, the INEC boss said everything was set for the Saturday poll and urged voters to come out en masse to cast their votes.

    He said INEC had released about 52,000 voter cards generated from the last continuous voter registration exercise to the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for distribution to their owners.

    Yakubu said he was in the state to speak with the stakeholders and reassure them of the readiness of INEC to conduct a free, fair and credible election.

    He dismissed claims of federal might and said INEC would provide level playing field to all parties involved in the election.

    He said: “INEC is fully prepared. We have come to speak with the stakeholders. On November 10 all the parties and their candidates signed the peace accord. I am happy that they are abiding by the terms of the peace accord.

    “We have come to speak to them and to also reassure all Bayelsans that nobody but Bayelsa will elect a governor for Bayelsa State. They should come and cast their votes freely. The elections will be free and fair.

    “The election is two dimension, the responsibilities that INEC will discharge and the responsibility entirely for the police and that is why we have come with the chief internal officer of the country, the IGP to speak and assure Bayelsans that we will create enabling environment for free, fair and credible election.

    “All the PVCs for continuous voter registration had been transferred amounting to over 52,000. They have arrived Bayelsa and we have handed them over to the REC this morning. We will find the most effective means of distributing the PVCs.

    Also, speaking to journalists, Arase said the force is ready to ensure a violent-free poll, adding that the police remain apolitical.