As the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Saturday declared that the governorship election in Bayelsa State would continue today in parts of the state, renewed tension and threat of possible violence over the outcome of the election has gripped residents of Yenagoa, the state capital.
But both the candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Timipre Sylva and Seriake Dickson respectively claimed that they were in early lead in the contest.
PDP claimed to be in early lead, as unconfirmed results were being released at polling units and wards across the state, the APC claimed that its flagbearer was leading in five local government areas.
INEC has already declared the election inconclusive in some polling units and wards across the state.
PDP, according to a result made available to our correspondent, claimed that its candidate won in all the three wards in Odi and all the units in Kaiama in Kolokuma/Opokuma local government area.
The party also said it was maintaining a distant lead in Ogbia, Sagbama, Ekeremor and Yenagoa local government areas.
The results of other polling units were still being collated, the PDP as at the time of filing this report insisted that it was maintaining a comfortable lead.
Simultaneously, APC in a statement said, “Our governorship candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, is leading in five local government areas namely, Ekeremor, Brass, Kolokuma/Opokuma, Nembe and Yenagoa.
“The incumbent Governor Henry Seriake Dickson is said to have won in Sagbama LGA, while he is running neck to neck in Ogbia LGA with the APC governorship candidate.
“The election in Southern Ijaw local government area has been postponed as crisis erupted in the area following reports of serious security breach that resulted in gunlshots leading to the death of about eight persons.”
Governor Dickson lost at the Peace Park polling unit 10 directly in front of Government House, as APC polled 58 votes to PDP’s 27.
The Chairman of PDP in the state, Chief Serena Dokubo, also lost in his ward in Brass LGA to APC governorship candidate.
The Deputy Majority leader in the state House of Assembly, Hon. Tonye Isenah also lost in his ward in Kolokuma/Opokuma local government.
Election reportedly did not take place in Ward 4 and 5 in Ogbia council area as a result of security threat from supporters of the two major contending parties.
Voting continues Sunday – INEC declares
INEC declared on Saturday that elections will continue in parts of the state where the poll was marred by violence or late arrival of materials.
INEC national commissioner representing South South, Mr Mustapha Leckey, who made the declaration in Yenagoa during a press briefing, said that election in Southern Ijaw local government area ran into hitches due to clashes between rival parties.
Lecky, who was flanked by the Bayelsa resident electoral commissioner, Baritor Kpagih, commended the election process in most of the areas except Southern Ijaw, but pointed out that the election in Southern Ijaw had not been cancelled or postponed but will continue tomorrow (Sunday).
4 killed, scores injured as Bayelsa poll turns bloody
The governorship election in Bayelsa State Saturday turned bloody as four persons suspected to be ex-militants were shot dead, with scores of people injured in an early morning violence that erupted during the exercise in Ekeremor, Southern Ijaw, Nembe, Sagbama and Brass local government areas of the state
At least four persons were killed during a test of wits and gun power between the ex-militant youths loyal to PDP and those of APC in the areas.
The gun battle between the two ex-militant groups which lasted for hours followed attempt to hijack the accreditation and voting materials from the INEC headquarters in the area.
Three of the ex-militants were
killed as security forces battled to restore normalcy while another was said to have been killed by a stray bullet.
Both PDP and APC have engaged themselves in a verbal war that saw the two major political parties in the electoral contest blaming each other for the killings.
Our correspondents reported that most of the ad-hoc staff and officials were locked inside the INEC office by armed soldiers who repelled the attempt by armed men to hijack the electoral materials.
While the sporadic shootings forced many of the residents to stay indoors for fear of being hit in the crossfire, the hoodlums were unable to move the election materials from the highly tensed area.
“Several shots were fired to scare the people and pave way for the carting away of the election materials but the security operatives attached to the area were up to the task,” a source at the scene said.
Serious violence erupted in Southern Ijaw local government area leading to non-accreditation of voters for Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
Heavily armed thugs in the morning hours of Saturday hijacked electoral materials sent to various electoral wards, and polling units in the council area by INEC.
The battleground, according to sources, was in Ekeremor local government area, where there were attempts by armed groups to invade the home of Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Agriculture.
PDP, APC trade blames over violent attacks
Meanwhile, PDP and APC have engaged themselves in a verbal war, with the two major political parties in the electoral contest blaming each other for the killings.
PDP claimed that the violent attacks were being carried out by APC and some hired hands from outside the state.
The ruling party in the state said, “security operatives have arrested the former secretary to the state government and a chieftain of the APC Chief Gideon Ekeowei and former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Donald Egberibein and 49 others in connection with election violence in Oporoma Southern Ijaw local government headquarters that left in its trail the death of no fewer than four persons and several others injured.
“Members of APC unleashed terror on the people of the community in the early hours of the day. It was gathered that the affected persons were picked up at various locations within the community.”
But a report from the situation room of the campaign organisation of APC governorship candidate, Sylva, noted that it was some armed thugs suspected to have been hired by PDP from Delta State who stormed the residence of the minister at Ekeremor town in Ekeremor local government area in the early hours of Saturday.
According to the report, the thugs overpowered security men deployed to Ekeremor and made their way into the minister’s compound causing mayhem with Senator Lokpobiri and others trapped inside the house.
The report noted that while the security personnel attached to the minster were making attempts to rescue the situation, the attack intensified as PDP thugs said to be led by one Tolu Amatolo, took over the entire community.
The campaign team reported that the military were fighting as they were expected to restore normalcy in the community.
The APC Director of Media and Publicity, Chief Nathan Egba claimed that the wave of attacks affected communities including Oporoma in Southern Ijaw local government where the state APC Chairman, Tiwei Orunimighe, hails from.
Other local governments said to be involved include Nembe, Brass, home of the APC governorship candidate, Sylva and Ekeremor, home of Senator Lokpobiri.
Egba said, “We have it on good authority that Governor Seriake Dickson imported over 5,000 thugs from neighbouring states of Delta and Rivers to cause violence in the election. The unknown faces now in most of the riverine communities of Bayelsa State have been terrorising the people with gun shots to scare people away from the polling units.
“In Nembe-Ogbolomabiri Saturday, two APC members were shot until the military task force ordered residents to go into their houses and remain indoors. In Sagbama town, headquarters of Sagbama local government area, one APC supporter was attacked. Sagbama is the local government of Governor Dickson, who is the PDP candidate.
“In Oporoma, headquarters of Southern Ijaw local government, it took the military force to repel the PDP thugs, who had planned to snatch the sensitive election materials. Four persons were reportedly killed in the gun battle.
“At Odioma community in Brass LGA, Chief Sylva was attacked by PDP supporters on Friday evening. It took the intervention of the Joint Task Force to repel the thugs and whisk the former governor and his entourage away.
Four journalists on the train of Chief Sylva were missing in Odioma for several hours after the gunshots. It took the efforts of the JTF and local vigilante group to rescue the journalists from their hiding late night on Friday.
“In Opolo town, the APC ward 5 campaign crganisation, Utovie Egba, was macheted by PDP thugs, when they prevented APC polling agents from gaining access to the centre.”
INEC staff held hostage at Gov Dickson’s LG
INEC also alleged that its staff deployed to distribute electoral materials at Sagbama local government area of Bayelsa State were being held hostage.
Sagbama is the home local government of the incumbent.
Speaking on a live programme on Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the commission’s Director of voter education and publicity, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, said staff deployed to convey materials to Sagbama were confronted by some gunmen.
He noted that, while the staff had to take refuge at the local government headquarters, another team was held hostage Saturday morning as they made to distribute materials, adding that security agents had been contacted to help rescue the electoral officials.
“We are asking that a gun boat be sent to the place immediately,” the INEC spokesperson said.
“If necessary, they will have to be evacuated and brought back to Abuja,” he said.
The Deputy Inspector-general of Police overseeing the election, Argungu Hashimu, however, assured that the police were on top of the situation.
“We are taking care of everything. We are the ones on ground and we are doing our job”, Hashimu who was also a guest on the NTA programme, noted.
Dickson calls for probe, laments card readers’ malfunction
Governor Dickson Saturday called on the federal government to investigate the circumstances that led to the violent attacks that claimed lives during the election.
He made the call when he led his wife, Racheal and mother, Madam Gold-Coast to get accredited at about 10:38am in Oruere-Ware Unit 5 of ward 2 in Sagbama local government area of the state.
The governor who spoke after he and members of his family were accredited at about 10:48am also expressed worry over the alleged spate of failure of the card readers and violent attacks on his supporters in Oporoma, Brass, Ekeremor and other parts of the state.
Noting that the report of violence was disturbing, he described the attacks as pre-meditated, in spite of the presence of heavily armed security operatives, adding that the security personnel looked away while criminals unleashed violence on the people.
Dickson said he was convinced that the federal-controlled security agencies did not create a conducive environment for voting to take place and also accused the rival APC of instigating the violence.
INEC must review card reader technology – Jonathan
Former president Goodluck Jonathan frowned at repeated malfunctioning of the card readers during Saturday’s governorship election in his unit and ward.
He assured the people that though this was an isolated governorship election, INEC would have to review the use of card readers ahead of the 2019 general elections.
Jonathan and his family members who eventually got accredited at about 9:40am at the Otuabula unit 039 of Otuoke community of Ogbia local government area of the state were initially shocked when the card reader rejected his wife, Patience and five other members of his entourage.
The presiding officer of the unit immediately ordered for a backup card reader before Jonathan was accredited and others accredited manually with incident forms.
Jonathan called on the people of the state to be calm and peaceful because the peaceful conduct of the election is the hallmark of democracy.
On the reported violence in some local government councils and reported killings of some ex-militants, Jonathan faulted tagging the victims involved in the act as ex-militants.
“I don’t like it when they use the word ex-militant youths. If they were killed, were they carrying weapons? If such happens, I think we should have passed the stage,” he said.
The various polling units in Yenagoa and Ogbia local government areas however witnessed peaceful deployment of accreditation and election materials. Accreditation in most of the units and wards was done on time, following early arrival of materials.
At the Jetty road area of Yenagoa, where the ward Headquarters is located, ad hoc staff and National Youth Service Corps members were seen moving materials to units under close security.
-Leadership