30th March, 2015
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa state has demanded a total cancellation of last Saturday’s presidential and national assembly elections in the state following widespread irregularities.
The party described the elections as heavily compromised, saying they were characterised by intimidation of voters and arrests of APC members and agents; INEC collusion with PDP to massively rig the elections as well as armed youths and security forces collusion with PDP to compromise the electoral process; late arrival of electoral materials, and deliberate refusal to use the card readers.
In an online statement by the party signed by the Bayelsa State Chairman, Chief Tiwei Timipa Orunimighe, made available to PM News in Port Harcourt, said in almost all the eight local government councils, with the possible exception of Ogbia, (the local government area of President Goodluck Jonathan) electoral materials arrived at the earliest 3:00 pm on voting day. When the officials and materials arrived, they abandoned the card readers, even where there was no proof they were bad.
APC claimed that INEC officials claimed to have received the following SMS from their headquarters: “My dear EOs, Pls you have been enjoined to use Manual Register for accreditation of voters. Be wise!” Once this message was circulated, it set the stage for PDP to manipulate the process with the collusion of INEC and the security agents.
Specifically, the party alleges that its agents were intimidated and voters scared away by gunshots fired by the armed and security forces.
In Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area, Hon. Tariprebo Moses Aketi, APC candidate for KOLGA Constituency 1, and Campaign Manager, Imomoemi Odiowei, were arrested.
APC said in Nembe Local Government Area, Mini and Ikensi Wards, soldiers using two new gunboats chased out APC agents, seized all the electoral materials and took them to the residence of a former Speaker of the Bayelsa Sate House of Assembly, Hon. Ayebaesin Edeoghotu. In the same local government, results of four units in Oluasiri Ward 13 were hijacked by men in police uniform.
In Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Ward 17, electoral materials were taken to the houses of PDP chieftains and collated after agents of others political parties were chased away by security agents. In Brass Local government area, our party men saw one PDP agent openly thumb-printing over 100 ballot papers for his party.
APC stated that based on these irregularities, whatever results emanate from last Saturday’s polls in Bayelsa State cannot be said to represent the will of the people of the state.
The APC therefore calls on the INEC to cancel the Presidential and National Assembly polls in Bayelsa State, and reschedule same for a new date
Meanwhile, as tension wells up Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson has frowned at the deploying of force by Senator Heineken Lokpobiri to secure the PDP ticket for the Bayelsa – West Senatorial District, with misleading information and outright forgery of party documents.
The Governor, who was speaking, when he visited the scene of a clash between rival supporters of the winner of the party’s primaries, Evangelist Foster Ogola and incumbent Senator, Heineken Lokpobiri, who is challenging the candidacy of Evangelist Ogola in court, warned that, the government will deal decisively with anybody or group of persons, no matter how highly placed, that takes the law into their hands.
Reports have it that, supporters of Evangelist Foster Ogola were irked, when the Judge, who had earlier been petitioned over his lob-sided handling of the matter, went ahead to fix hearing and judgement for today, without proper notification to both parties, even as the matter has been moved away from his court.
Governor Dickson, who visited the scene of the clash in the company of some heads of security agencies, condemned the action of Senator Lokpobiri for manipulating the judicial process for judgement to be passed in his favour, without the knowledge of the other party in the matter.
He advised the judiciary not to allow itself to be used by desperate politicians to perpetrate injustice, capable of causing a breach of the peace, as was experienced today between the rival supporters.
It will be recalled that, Senator Lokpobiri had also employed the services of thugs to disrupt the national assembly primaries of the PDP held in Sagbama on the 7th of December, 2014, but for the presence security agencies, who acted timely to stop them.
Ends