Both the incumbent Governor of Bayelsa State Seriake Dickson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his main opponent, former governor Timipre Sylva of All Progressives Congress (APC) will know their fate today as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Sunday disclosed that it would declare the results of the remaining three local government areas (LGAs) in the state, after announcing the results of five LGAs.
Results from five local governments announced by INEC showed that the candidate of the PDP, Dickson, was leading his APC counterpart, former governor Timipre Sylva with a margin of 25,415 votes.
The results released last night by INEC were those from the returning officers in Ekeremor, Kolokuma/Opokuma, Sagbama, Yenagoa and Brass LGAs. The three local governments whose results are to be announced are Ogbia, Nembe and Southern Ijaw.
The total number of votes from each of the local government announced were: Ekeremor – PDP 7,619, APC 6,897; Yenagoa – PDP 24,258, APC 14,563; Sagbama – PDP 28,934, APC 5,382; Brass – PDP 6,516, APC 21,755 and Kolokuma/Opokuma – PDP 14,602, APC 7,918.
Governor Dickson won four of the five local government areas polled with 81,929 votes overall, while Sylva won in only one local government, Brass and scored a total of 56, 514 votes overall.
Out of the three local governments where results are yet to be announced, two – Ogbia and Nembe – are PDP strongholds. Former president Goodluck Jonathan hails from Ogbia, the incumbent deputy governor is a son of Nembe.
But as some of the supporters of the PDP are basking in the euphoria of their candidate having an early lead based on results from five local governments, others are worried by the fact that Southern Ijaw local government, where Sylva’s running mate and all the ex-militants who support Sylva hail from, has the highest number of registered voters in the state with a voting capacity of 108,838.
Consequently, the PDP is concerned about the conduct of the rescheduled governorship poll in the biggest local government area of the state, Southern Ijaw.
Ogbia has about 55,000 votes, same as Nembe. Already both leaders of the APC and the PDP are engaged in a battle of wits over calls for the cancellation of the election in Southern Ijaw.
APC insists the election be announced, while PDP is raising dust over the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the election in Southern Ijaw.
According to PDP, “We have uncovered the plot by INEC and the relevant security agencies to rig the Bayelsa governorship election in favour of the leading opposition party, APC.
INEC’s decision to go ahead with the rescheduled election in Southern Ijaw local government area in spite of the protests by the people and even ad-hoc staff, lateness in the commencement of accreditation and voting exercise as well as provision of inadequate security among others are a pointer to the fact that the body had concluded arrangements to announce the APC candidate as the winner of the election, it alleged.
Briefing newsmen on the sharp practices being perpetrated by INEC in connivance with the security agencies in some local governments, the acting Chairman of the PDP, Chief Serena Dokubo-Spiff, said INEC was wrong to order that accreditation and voting exercise should go on simultaneously.
Describing this development as part of sinister moves to upturn the already declared result by the INEC through voodoo votes, the acting chairman said it was unheard of and undemocratic.
“We, the PDP, hereby say that, that is irregular, improper and unacceptable. We would resist it. We must commit to doing the right thing in this country. The resident electoral commissioner, Mr Baritor Kpagih, should stick to doing the right thing,” the party said.
“How can you say that accreditation and voting exercise should go on simultaneously in a place like Southern ijaw that has geographical components as far flung as from here to Siberia?
“We fear that they are intending to do some ‘mago mago;’ that would not be accepted and we are saying so emphatically for record purposes.”
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, who also doubles as the Director-general of the APC campaign, insisted on the conduct of the poll in Southern Ijaw, saying both parties should agree on a peaceful exercise.
“That election must hold; all we need is peace and a non-violent exercise that will allow the will of the people to prevail as they file out to elect their governor.
“Our disappointment, however, has been the violence orchestrated by people who feel threatened that their time is up and would want to hold on to power at all cost.”
Controversy as Dickson pays surprise visit to Oporoma in Southern Ijnaw
The surprise visit by Governor Dickson to Oporoma, the Headquarters of the troubled Southern Ijaw local government area, has sparked off controversy in the state.
Operatives of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, Operation Pulo Shield, turned back Governor Dickson from the troubled Southern Ijaw local government.
A military source said the governor had arrived Oporoma in the company of state and party officials but he was advised to leave the community on the strength of intelligence report that he could be attacked by armed youths in the town.
How I escaped death in the hands of APC thugs – Acting Bayelsa PDP Chairman
The acting state chairman of the PDP in Bayelsa State, Chief Serena Dokubo-Spiff, has recalled his near-death experience in the hands of armed thugs suspected to have been hired by APC during the Saturday governorship election in Brass local government area of the state.
According to Chief Serena Dokubo-Spiff, though his valuables, voter card and cash were taken away by the heavily armed hoodlums, his escape from the attackers was by the miraculous grace of God.
Chief Serena Dokubo, addressing newsmen Sunday in Yenagoa, narrated that the attack on his home was carried out with the full knowledge of security agents in the area.
“At about 8am on Saturday, gun-wielding thugs invaded the Brass town openly and unleashed on the people an orgy of violence. They came to my house unchallenged by security men. All calls to security agents were futile as the thugs had a field day.
“One of the thugs put a dagger to my face. They stripped me of all valuables that we had. I was in company of the chairman of PDP in Brass local government and three others.”
Dokubo-Spiff noted that the police arrived in two batches about two and half hours after the thugs had finished their operation.
“It was after the thugs had gone that we found the courage to escape to a safe place,” he said.
Kogi guber: How APC won in Kogi governorship election
After the supplementary election in 91 polling units across 18 local governments in Kogi State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Sunday declared the substitute governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Yahaya Bello, as the winner of Kogi State Gubernatorial Election.
The supplementary election waqs concluded on Sunday after the earlier poll of November 21 was declared inconclusive by INEC.
Announcing the result, the returning officer for Kogi State Gubernatorial Election, Prof Emmanuel Yenube Kucha, said that Yahaya Bello of APC scored 247,752 while the runner-up, Capt. Idris Wada of the Peoples Democratic (PDP), polled a total of 204,877.
Prof Kucha explained that, two weeks earlier, the election had been declared inconclusive after the election was cancelled in 91 polling units (with a combined total of 49,953 registered voters) as a result of violence, stressing that the margin between the two leading candidates was less than the total votes cancelled in the affected polling units across 18 local government areas of Kogi State.
He stated that the governorship supplementary election scheduled for Sunday had been concluded, and that the result had been merged with the previous election result of November 21.
Earlier, the returning officer, who is also the Vice Chancellor of University Agriculture, Makurdi, had announced the result of supplementary election with APC polling a total of 6,885 votes while the PDP scored 5,363 votes out of 13,000 votes cast.
After the figures were added, Prof Kucha read out the result of each of the 22 candidates that contested the governorship election in Kogi State as follows: Dickson F. Fred, Accord Party, 206; Isah Yakubu, AA, 120; Ukwuanya Musa, ACD, 480; Michael Abdullahi, AD, 168; Usman Zainab, ADC, 707; Odoluku Cosmas Shalif, APA, 1995; Yahaya Bello, APC, 247,752; Akwu Umar Goodman, APGA, 1,040; Yinka Jerry Oloruntoba, CPP, 608; Philip Ezekiel Koleopla, DPC, 465, Abdulahi Ibrahim, DPP, 469.
The remaining contestants in the governorship election are Ibrahim Adejoh, ID, 179; Raji Ogirima, KOWA, 136; Dr Philip Omeiza Ozovehe Salawu, LP, 8761; NPC, 531; NNPP, 290; PDC, 895; Capt Idris Ichalla Wada, PDP, 204,877; Emmanuel Enesi Ozigi, PPA, 3048; PPM, 239; SDP, 90, and UDP, 107.
He pointed out that the total votes cast were 494,723 out of which 472,983 votes were valid, and 21,740 votes rejected.
Professor Kucha stated that 3,342 votes were cancelled in four local government areas: Dekina, one polling unit; Ibaji, two units; Lokoja, one unit, and Omala, one unit.
Declaring the winner at the collation centre for the supplementary election at INEC headquarters in Lokoja, the returning officer noted that Yahaya Bello had the highest number of votes in the just-concluded election.
“I hereby certify that Yahaya Bello of APC, having scored the highest votes is hereby declared winner,” he announced.
Meanwhile, the winner Alhaji Bello, has assured all Kogi people that his victory was a victory for all of them and not for any particular section, noting that the entire Kogi State was his constituency.
The governor-elect also asserted that he would work assiduously to reconcile all aggrieved persons to ensure a smooth administration.
On the streets of Lokoja, the state capital, people were going about their normal businesses amidst the jubilations by supporters and APC members.
Declaring Bello Kogi governor-elect is a waste of time – PDP
The PDP on Sunday criticised INEC’s decision to return APC’s Alhaji Yahaya Bello as the governor-elect in Kogi State, describing the move as a waste of time, a waste of scarce national resources and a case of ridiculous shadow-chasing.
PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh contended that someone who did not participate in the overall election cannot be the winner of the poll.
The PDP said, “INEC, in the bid to satisfy President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC federal government, succeeded only in making a mockery of itself and the entire electoral process, by trying to illegally install an individual who, apart from not being a valid candidate, scored, under his name, a paltry 6,885 votes in the so-called supplementary election as against the 204,877 votes polled by the PDP candidate, Governor Idris Wada, in the overall election.
“The action of INEC in trying to transfer the votes earlier garnered by the dead APC candidate, Prince Audu Abubakar, to another individual is completely impractical and alien to the nation’s Constitution and the Electoral Act.
“The declaration by INEC that one Yahaya Bello polled the highest number of votes is an embarrassing travesty of the nation’s democracy and electoral process. Not only that this individual is not in any way a valid candidate in the election, he also did not score the overall votes declared against his name by INEC and cannot be declared winner under any circumstance within the provisions of our laws.
“The provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act are clear to the effect that with the unfortunate death of Prince Abubakar Audu before the conclusion of the election, and the fact that the laws do not permit the replacement of candidates once the balloting has commenced, the APC crashed out of the race, leaving the PDP candidate, Governor Idris Wada, as the clear winner, having garnered 204,877 votes to top all other contestants since Prince Ababakar Audu, the hitherto leading contestant, died with his votes.
“It is therefore unfortunate that INEC disregarded the provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act, which left it with no other legitimate option than to declare Governor Idris Wada the governor-elect. Instead, it went ahead to preside over a charade, for which it is now attempting to illicitly hand over the votes cast for a dead man to another person, who did not participate in the overall election.”
In the statement, the PDP stated that nothing other than declaring Governor Idris Wada winner of the election fulfils the requirements of the law under the circumstance.
Bello To Faleke: Let’s develop Kogi together
The APC in Kogi State has appealed to its aggrieved members to support the governor-elect, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, in the task of developing the state.
A statement by the party’s campaign spokesman, Abdulmalik Suleiman said all hands must be on deck and all Kogi natives must rally round the governor-elect.
“No winner, no vanquished, we must continue as one united family that we are. The governor-elect is a humble man who will not discriminate against anyone within the party,” he said.
The statement reiterated the need for all Kogi people to pray for and work towards the peace, stability and progress of the state, even as it emphasized the need for the people to support their leaders for the benefit of all.
Suleiman pleaded with the deputy governor-elect, Hon. James Abiodun Faleke, and other aggrieved party members to accept the new development as the will of God.
‘’We plead with them to cooperate with Bello to develop the state in line with the vision of our late icon, Prince Abubakar Audu. The Campaign Council wishes all Kogites a memorable transition,” he added.
Atiku congratulates Kogi people, says Nigeria’s democracy enriched
Nigeria’s former Vice President and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar has congratulated the entire people and government of Kogi State, as well as the political and opinion leaders of the state, on the successful conclusion of the supplementary governorship election in the state.
The former vice president also commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its efforts, saying that the fact that the election resulted in a clear winner after all the doubt, tension, uncertainty and strain, is a testimony to the fact that the people of the state are resilient and peace-loving and that, when adhered to, the tenets of democracy tend to yield an outcome satisfying to the people.
In a statement signed by his Media Adviser, Mazi Paul Ibe in Abuja over the weekend and released through his Media Office, the Turaki Adamawa said that the outcome of the election had to a significant extent, enriched the nation’s democracy because it has shown that Nigerians can manage complex situations and yet make something out of it to the satisfaction of all concerned.
-Leadership
