The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, the winner of the just-concluded governorship election in the state.
Diri polled 175, 196 votes to defeat his closest rival of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Petroleum Minister, Chief Timipre Sylva, who scored 110,108 with the Labour Party candidate Udengs Eradiri, scoring 905 to come a distant third.
The Governor won in six out of the eight local government areas as he coasted home to victory in Yenagoa, Kolokuma-Opokuma, Sagbama, Ekeremor, Ogbia and Southern Ijaw while Sylva won in Brass and Nembe local government areas.
The result was declared by the State Collation Officer, Prof. Kuta Farouk, who is the Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Minna, in the presence of INEC REC, Mr. Obo Effanga, and Southsouth Commissioner for INEC May Agbamuche-Mbu.
The Collation Officer said Diri having satisfied all constitutional provisions was hereby declared the winner.
Reading out the results, Farouk said registered voters were 1,056,862 but that only 372,000 were accredited to participate in the election.
But the agent of the APC, Dennis Otiotio, said his party would not sign the result sheet because the party’s over 80,000 collated votes were cancelled by INEC at the commission’s office.
Speaking at the collation centre, Otiotio said the votes were cancelled in APC strongholds of Nembe and Southern Ijaw despite that they were already collated at the units and ward levels.
He said instead of allowing collations of results to take place at the wards in APC strongholds, the REC collated the results at the INEC office in Yenagoa.
He wondered why only results in PDP strongholds were collated at their various wards and local government areas.
Otiotio insisted that there was massive rigging, disenfranchisement and cancellation of APC votes in many polling units and compromised by the INEC.
He urged the electoral umpire to rectify the results within seven days, after which the party would take the next line of actions.
He stated: “INEC didn’t follow the electoral procedures. Our over 55,000 votes scored by APC were cancelled in Southern Ijaw while 29,000 votes were equally cancelled and when added amount to over 80,000 votes that were cancelled. Clearly APC won election. We will contest election result being declared by INEC, after consulting our legal team”.
There was chaos at the Bayelsa State Collation Centre of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Yenagoa during the announcement of governorship election results from Brass Local Government Area.
The rage caused a shouting match led to the physical attack on the State Chairman and agent of APC at the centre, Dennis Otiotio, by the Accord Party agent, Victor Werinipre.
Trouble started when Victor, while reacting to the results from Brass, made a blanket statement that the Deputy Governorship Candidate of the APC, Joshua MacIver, called for violence during the campaign.
Otitio, who was unhappy with the statement, called on Victor to withdraw it as other agents joined him to call the Accord agent to order.
But Victor went violent and punched Otitio in the stomach, a situation that sparked tension at the centre.
Security agents, however, restored peace and calm at the centre.
Apart from the APC, seven other political parties such as the Social Democratic Party (SDP), New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Labour Party (LP), National Rescue Mission (NRM) and the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).
They denounced alleged irregularities and cancellation of votes by INEC where opposition political parties in the state won during the Saturday poll.
The Chairmen of SDP; Allen Domotimi Nathan; NNPP, Joel Tubornimi; NRP, William Parker and LP State Agent, Charles Oyibo among other chairmen
insisted that they were massive cancellation in the area where opposition political parties won to give the ruling PDP edge over other parties.
They said: “The number of canceled votes is more than the margin used in declaring Douye Diri winner, we will challenge the result in court.
“There was massive cancellation in the areas but that other political parties won, while where PDP won, votes were allowed to stand, we reject the result announced by INEC.
“Votes were just awarded during the collation, we are not comfortable with the result declared, tax payers money were deployed to buy votes”.
I’ll continue to be governor for all, says Diri
But speaking shortly after his declaration, the elated Diri said that he would be a governor of all in his second tenure.
He said the victory would not have been possible without the hand and grace of the Almighty God and the overwhelming support Bayelsans had shown towards him and his government.
Diri said he was deeply humbled by the citizens’ overwhelming expression of confidence and mandate to serve for another four years.
He said: “I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to everyone that cast your vote in my favour and entrusted me with the responsibility of leading our beloved state.
“I am also immensely grateful to the leadership of our great party, PDP, at all levels and our dedicated campaign team and supporters, who worked tirelessly to spread our message of progress and unity throughout Bayelsa State.
“Your unwavering belief in our vision for prosperity and your relentless efforts have brought us this sweet victory.
However, I urge you all to celebrate with temperance, as this victory is not the exclusive preserve of any one political party.
“Rather, it is the collective will of a people united towards progress and a better future. Even those who cast their votes differently enriched our democratic practice by their participation and dissent. I reaffirm that I will continue to be the governor of all in Bayelsa State.
“I want to place on record our gratitude to the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, H.E. Bola Ahmed Tinubu for allowing the conducive environment for what has been a free, fair and credible election.
“In the same vein, we appreciate the role of most of the security agencies for their professionalism and hard work in providing security for the exercise. We equally commend the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for discharging their responsibility largely creditably.
“I want to specifically acknowledge and appreciate our leader, former President Goodluck Jonathan, for his unqualified support just as thank my immediate predecessor in office, H.E Sen. Henry Dickson, for his unwavering and abiding support.
“Our special appreciation also goes to our party leaders and my brother governors for their physical presence and invaluable moral support during this process.
“As I stated in my inauguration speech, where there is darkness, let us bring light. Where there is hatred, let us bring love. We are too few a people to be polarized and fractionalized along political, clan or other primordial ranks.”
Diri said he was determined in fostering unity and inclusivity as his administration strived to achieve the shared goals and aspirations of the people is undiminished.
He said he eagerly looks forward to collaborating with each and every one of the people to create a brighter future for Bayelsa.
He noted: “I equally sincerely thank all those who exercised their democratic right to vote. Your participation in this election has reaffirmed the strength of our democracy and the power that lies within the hands of the people.
“However, it is important to acknowledge that this electoral process has not been without its challenges. Regrettably, attempts by some political actors to hijack the process and undermine the will of the people resulted in the utterly unacceptable infiltration of violence, thuggery and intimidation into our electoral process.
“Lives of innocent individuals have been lost, an outcome that should not have occurred. Let me be clear: such actions are utterly unacceptable.
“In this moment, I offer my deepest condolences to the individuals and families that have suffered from brutal attacks, loss of life, injuries, and harassment during this off-cycle election.
“Innocent lives have needlessly been sacrificed on the altar of greed, and this tragedy must not be overlooked. I assure you that there will be consequences for these actions.
“In particular, the news of the murder of a young man, Berepelenyo George Sibo, in Twon-Brass, in the aftermath of this election, is deeply troubling. It serves as a stark reminder of the importance of maintaining peace, stability, and respect for human life during and after an election.
“Every loss of life is a tragedy, especially when it occurs in the context of exercising democratic rights.
“We must collectively condemn any acts of violence and work towards creating a society where every individual can freely and safely participate in the democratic process.
” Once again, I extend my deepest gratitude to the people of Bayelsa State for your overwhelming support and trust. I accept your mandate to serve you again as Governor with utmost humility. Rest assured, I will continue to serve with integrity, dedication, and transparency. Let us embark on this next phase of our Prosperity journey together, knowing that the future of Bayelsa State rests in our hands, under God.”
