The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed January 9, 2016 for the supplementary election in Southern Ijaw Local Government in Bayelsa State.
According to a bulletin by INEC on Thursday in Abuja, the electoral commission picked the date after a consultative meeting with leaders of political parties which fielded candidates in the December 5 governorship election.
INEC said the participants at the meeting agreed to decentralise the distribution of sensitive election materials in the election.
It added that they re-affirmed their commitment to the Peace Accord signed by all contestants and political parties in Yenagoa on November 11, 2015 for the conduct of free, fair and credible election in Bayelsa State.
“The meeting also called for the neutrality of the security agencies and emphasised that the lead agency in the election should be Nigerian Police.
“It appealed to INEC to ensure the functionality of the Smart Card Readers (SCR) to eschew glitches in the election,’’ the bulletin noted.
Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), confirmed that the political parties had agreed that the supplementary election should be held on January 9, 2016 to conclude the state governorship election.
Dickson stressed that PDP would work with INEC and also enlighten Bayelsa people on the need for them to come out and vote peacefully on the Election Day.
Dickson also expressed confidence in winning the election when concluded, saying so far, from the INEC results, I have won in six out of seven local government areas of the state.
“PDP is ready for the election in the remaining one local government, perhaps our strong local government. We are ready to go,” the governor said.
He said that it was not the number of registered voters that matters, but those who had collected their Permanent Voters Cards and turn out of the voters on election date.
Similarly, Chief Timipre Sylva, All Progressives Congress Candidates (APC) candidate, expressed confidence in winning the state election when concluded.
“As far as we are concerned, we believe that we have won the election and we should be declared the winner.
“But if in the wisdom of INEC, it is its decision we should go for rerun, we are very ready for the election.
“We are very confident that at the end of the day, we will win,” Slyva said.
Mr Moses Siasia, the candidate of the the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), said that the utmost concern of Bayelsa people was that the election should be peaceful.
His counterpart in the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), National Chairman, Chief Peter Ameh said one of the concerns raised at the meeting was that in an isolated election like that of Bayelsa, there was no need for army participation.
Ameh said that the police and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps have the capacity to provide the needed security during the election.
The PDP acting National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus also expressed confidence that PDP would win the election having led other candidates with over 33,000 votes.
Reacting to the court ruling that he should vacate the party’s chairmanship position in the next 14 days, Secondus said that the party had appealed the judgment.
“I am the deputy chairman and the constitution says that in the absence of the chairman, the deputy acts. Even the court ruling has been appealed.
“We have appealed against the ruling because by January 2016, we are going to have our congress.’’
He added that there is no problem with the party.
