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By Amos Okioma, Yenagoa
Peoples Democratic Party’s twenty-year rule of Bayelsa State has been truncated with the defeat of the party’s gubernatorial candidate, Senator Douye Diri, by that of the All Progressive Congress (APC), David Lyon.
Lyon had been taunted as lacking the experience and knowledge by the ruling people’s Democratic Party (PDP) who campaigned that their candidate is tested and most suitable educationally and politically to continue to consolidate on the legacy projects of the outgoing governor, Seriake Dickson, who styled himself as the ‘Ofuramapepe’ (who sails on the sea when it is rough).
The results announced by INEC’s chief returning officer, Prof Farade Olunwense early Monday morning showed that APC’s candidate, David Lyon, a philanthropist and businessman cum politician who hails from Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, defeated Senator Douye Diri from Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area, with a whopping 352,552 votes against PDP’s 43,172 votes.
The six local government areas won by APC are Brass, Nembe, Ogbia, Southern Ijaw, Ekeremor and Yenagoa.
APC’s party agent, Dr Denis Otiotio, and other stakeholders had commended the electoral umpire for conducting free, fair and credible elections that have been adjudged as most peaceful in the annals of elections in the state.
However, PDP agent, Dr Odeyovwi Osusu, said the results announced by INEC were unacceptable and therefore rejected.
Dr Osusu said a new lexicon had been added in Nigeria’s democratic dispensation especially in Southern Ijaw because no death was recorded, which meant that the election there was most peaceful and credible, as he described the entire results credited to APC as sham and shame on democracy in the state.
The PDP governorship candidate, Senator Douye Diri won in Sagbama Local Government Area, the incumbent governor, Seriake Dickson’s area, and Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area where he hails from.
As at press time, various groups are assembling from all APC strongholds and supporters to jubilate the party’s success and humiliation of “PDP’s eight years of retrogression, absence of electricity, water, infrastructure deficit, poverty, unemployment, insecurity and the governor’s over ambition, impunity and plan to go to the Senate where senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpor is planted to hold forte for him, hence, he disobeyed the former president Goodluck Jonathan who asked for a deputy but was not considered to produce a deputy governor of the state.
“These must be the reasons why the Ogbia Local Government Area gave the APC block vote and the massive vote for APC were nothing more than an opportunity for the generality of Bayelsans and non-indigenes whose businesses had been crippled by Restoration government under Seriake Dickson to protest,” analysts say.