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By Amos Okioma, Yenagoa
Senator Douye Diri, gubernatorial candidate of the People Democratic Party in the November 16 election in Bayelsa State, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare him winner of the election as the result declared in favour of the All Progressives Congress’s David Lylon was a sham and a ruse.”
Senator Douye, who was flanked by his running mate, senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, and other party officials at a press conference in Yenagoa, stressed that the election was characterized by rigging, kidnapping and use of security agencies, was an aberration to our nascent democracy.
According to him, the results declared by INEC were concerted, manufactured and allocated figures which were done in connivance with the military which arrested and detained PDP chieftains to the bidding of APC’s federal might.
He said there reported cases of hijacking of electoral materials, intimidation, unleashing of violence on hapless members of PDP by the APC in the presence of the military and other security agencies, adding that PDP went out to contest, but the APC was prepared for war which resulted to inflicting injuries on 20 PDP members among which were the chairman of Ogbia Local Government Area, Hon Ebiyoun Turner, and a member of Bayelsa state House of Assembly, Hon Gibson Munalayefa.
“Some of the injured persons are being hospitalized in an undisclosed clinic in Bayelsa state,” he said.
He also pointed accusing fingers at some APC chieftains over alleged electoral malpractices. These include, Hon Maxwell Okoh, Tiwe Orunimighen and Sam Ugbuku.
“Maxwell Okoh, recently nominated as executive director, Finance and Administration, NDDC, former chief of staff to governor Timipere Sylva and Chief Tiwei Orunimighen who defected to PDP and later returned to APC were responsible for a lot of electoral malpractices during the election,” he said.
He alleged that the GOC of the 16 Brigade who had been transferred refused to leave until after the election.
He was supported in the call for the cancellation of the results and to declare him the rightful winner by the coalition of other political parties which averred that with recent litigation the APC has no moral justification to contest the election, rather the contest should be between PDP and other parties, excluding the APC which the INEC illegally declared the winner of the results.
They added that the authentic results from the situation reports of the election from the eight local government areas should be considered and not that which INEC had used.
He therefore urged party members not to mourn, but to celebrate their victory as INEC will surely announce him and declared that what the electoral umpire did was null and void, just as the Coalition of political parties posited that if INEC failed to declare the PDP candidate as winner and governor-elect, there shall be a parallel government in Bayelsa State.
They further alleged that the national chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, was used to contact the vice chancellor of the University of Benin, Prof Farade Oruwense, who they also alleged recruited virtually all lecturers from the university as collation officers to do the biddings of the All Progressive Congress.
Also condemning the results, the South-South chairman of the PDP, Chief Emma Ogidi urged INEC to redeem its battered image, insisting that democracy entails popularity and not rigging or intimidation.