Tension gripped Bayelsa State Wednesday after thousands of Youths barricaded major roads in Yenagoa, the state capital, to protest the cancellation of the election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The youths who demanded the immediate sacking of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr. Baritor Kpagir, also called for the urgent release of the Southern Ijaw Election results.
The youths, who chanted songs in solidarity, said the REC erred for cancelling an election that had been conducted with results collated and pasted in various wards.
Scores of physically-challenged persons on wheelchairs also joined the protest which was peacefully coordinated by armed riot policemen.
On Monday while the results of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area was being awaited at the State Collation Centre in Yenagoa, Kpagir announced that the election in the council which was conducted on Sunday had been cancelled.
Election in Southern Ijaw was shifted from Saturday to Sunday because of widespread violence but Kpagir waited till Monday to announce its cancellation citing violence, hijacking of electoral materials and other irregularities.
But the youths who are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) wondered why Kpagir isolated Southern Ijaw for cancellation while ignoring other areas such as Ekeremor, Nembe, and Yenagoa that witnessed similar irregularities.
The aggrieved protesters led by APC stalwarts and some members of the party’s state executive council carried placards with inscriptions such as, “INEC should declare Southern Ijaw results now” ; Ijaw People reject and say no to dictatorial and draconian policies of Governor Seriake Dickson; “the INEC REC in Bayelsa should be sacked” and “Bayelsa reject the cancellation of Southern Ijaw”.
The protesters took off in the morning from the APC state secretariat at Yenizu-egene and marched through the Mbiama-Yenagoa Road.
They later diverted to Imgbi Road and headed for the INEC office located along Swali Road where they were received by INEC officials.
The demonstrators who carried flags of the APC and other materials of the party sang songs of victory saying but for Kpagir’s decision, their candidate and former Governor Timipre Sylva would have won the election.
On sighting mammoth crowd of protesters, security operatives deployed around INEC premises took their positions while an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) moved towards the crowd to stop at the entrance of the road leading to the office.
Policemen with shields bounced out and barricaded the road while a Police officer who spoke with the aid of a sound system demanded the reasons behind the demonstration.
The leader of the protest, Mr. Famous Daumenighe said the youths had come to deliver a message to the commission in a peaceful and orderly manner.
He thanked Bayelsa State for joining the protest and said the action was a struggle for equity and justice.
He said: “INEC has conducted election in Southern Ijaw and the results had been collated in all the ward levels. Even the returning officer said they were waiting for the results from Southern Ijaw. But the REC for the reasons best known to him was in a hurry to cancel an election that had taken place.
“If the Returning Officer had cancelled the election, there wouldn’t have been a problem. But the REC by his action had shown that he is bias. If southern Ijaw is to be cancelled then other councils like Ekeremor, Sagbama, Nembe and Yenagoa which witnessed large scale violence should also be cancelled.”
He warned Ijaw youths from Delta and other neighboring States who were allegedly brought in as thugs to disrupt the election to stay away from the state.
Other speakers said the protest would continue until INEC declares the Southern Ijaw results.
But Kpagir who was represented by INEC’s Head, Operation, Mr. Victor O. thanked the APC members for conducting their action peacefully.
Victor was flanked by other INEC officials and security operatives including observers from the African Union (AU), Christian Victor, and International Republican Institute, Mrs. Ben Udensi, said the REC was in Abuja adding that the directive to cancel the election was beyond them.
Earlier, hundreds of women and youths from Yenagoa Local Government Area, Bayelsa State Wednesday, took to the streets demanding cancellation of the election in the area.
They said the election in the capital city was marred by irregularities and inconsistencies in the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to them INEC officials refused to listen to the complaints of voters and agents of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
They said the overall results were not a reflection of the results announced by the Collation officer in the council.
The State Youth Leader of the APC, Edison Sorgwe and a Chieftain of the Party, Alawei Opukeme-Jonah, who spoke on behalf of the aggrieved voters , said the result announced by the INEC’s collation officer were inconsistent with the number of rejected and cancelled votes.
They said the same cases of ballot box snatching, irregularities and violence which INEC relied upon to cancel the election in Southern Ijaw also played out in Yenagoa and should be depended on to annul the election in the capital city.
They said over eight members of the party were nursing their wounds in various hospitals after sustaining attacks from political thugs.
“We have lost confidence in the ability of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Barton Kpagih to conduct election. We are against the cancellation of Southern Ijaw Local Government election,” he said.
