Bayelsa Poll: Southern Ijaw LGA Tears PDP, APC Apart As Buhari Gets Stern Warning

The tussle in the Southern Ijaw local government area has caused tension during the Bayelsa governorship election  as the two leading parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) both eye victory in the region.

READ ALSO: Where Election Results Will Be Collated In Bayelsa

TheSouthern Ijaw local government area has the highest number of voters in Bayelsa state, and as results from the poll continue to trickle in, there are strong indications that victory in the region will ultimately decide who emerges as the next Bayelsa state governor.

Despite the PDP’s candidate Governor Seriake Dickson already coasting home to victory, winning four of the five local governments announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Southern Ijaw local government has a voting strength of 108,838 by the 2015 registration figures.

While the PDP has called for a halt to the rescheduled governorship election in Southern Ijaw local government area of Bayelsa state, the APC has insisted on the conduct of the poll in the region, saying both parties should agree on a peaceful exercise.

This is contained in a statement by Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the minister of state for agriculture and rural development, who also doubles as the director general of the APC campaign.

Lokpobiri said: “That election must hold; all we need is peace and a non-violent exercise that will allow the will of the people to prevail as they file out to elect their governor. Our disappointment, however, has been the violence orchestrated by people who feel threatened that their time is up and would want to hold on to power at all cost.

“I am sure the whole world is aware of how my residence at Ekeremor was attacked by thugs who wielded dangerous arms and ammunitions. But for my insistence that no one should retaliate, the situation would have been that of bloodbath. But do we need to kill ourselves because we want to govern the people? I had to ensure extreme caution and mounted pressure on my people not retaliate, but allow the security agencies to curtail the invaders, there would have been bloodbath.”

However in a swift response, the PDP has warned President Muhammadu Buhari to steer clear of the Bayelsa governorship election and allow the will of the people to prevail.

Chief Olisa Metuh, the PDP national publicity secretary, in a statement said intelligence information reaching the party shows that President Buhari is neck-deep in APC’s desperation to forcefully take over Bayelsa, for which he has directed a covert military and other security operations to assist the APC to rig the election, New Telegraph reports.

Metuh said: “At the head of this illegal military operation is one Capt. Louis, who led the hijacking of elections in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, the largest in the state. Military personnel have seized ballot materials, including result sheets, in Igbematiru, Peremabiri, ward 3, ward 6, ward 8, ward 12, ward 13 and ward 15, which they took to Ologbobiri in military gunboats, where massive thumb-printing is going on in favour of the APC.

“In Ward 7 Ekowe, the military hijacked and destroyed voting materials. During this operation, the ruthless personnel manhandled NYSC members serving as ad hoc electoral officers, some of whom were thrown into the water and would have drowned if not for wellmeaning Nigerians who rescued them.

“The PDP, therefore, states that the political development in Southern Ijaw is the worst in Nigeria’s electoral history and is no different from the military coup of December 31, 1983. Furthermore, we are aware that the on-going operation is intended to inflate figures in favour of the APC and cancel PDP’s obvious victory in this election. We, therefore, expect that INEC should not announce any cookedup result coming from Southern Ijaw, which does not reflect the wishes and aspiration of the people.”

READ ALSO: Bayelsa Guber: PDP Is Sure Of Victory – Ben Bruce

The election in the Southern Ijaw local government area was moved to Sunday, December 6 following reports of violence in the region.

The development which caused concern among observers and participants also drew the attention of the Nigerian civil society situation room monitoring the poll. They said politicians are mainly responsible for the violence that erupted from the election.

Despite these allegations and counter allegations, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) began the official announcement of the Bayelsa state governorship election results on Sunday evening, December 6.

The collation exercise will continue this morning and Naij.com is on the ground to bring you live coverage. Follow here

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