By Bimbo Ogunnaike
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governorship candidate in Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has said that he won the Saturday Gubernatorial election in the State and called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare him winner of the poll.
He claimed that he scored 98,582 votes while his APC counterpart got a total of 55,903 in the election.
Giving a breakdown of the figures, he said the PDP scored 4,096 in Brass local government area, while the All Progressives Congress (APC) got 2,525.
According to him, the PDP polled 9,903 while the APC had 7,976 in Ogbia, while in Southern Ijaw, the PDP scored 12,225 and APC got 9,542.
He said in Yenagoa, the PDP polled 21,165, said the APC scored 15,560, while in Sagbama, the PDP got 60,339 and APC had 7,831.
Diri explained that the PDP polled a total of 21,381 in Ekeremor, while the APC scored 8,780.
had 908 votes.
The PDP candidate maintained that it was illegal for the APC to have contested the governorship election because of a subsisting court judgement and urged INEC to disqualify the APC, which is a major contender in the exercise.
He stressed that he did not contest the election against the Candidate of the APC, David Lyon, who was returned winner by INEC as the party had already being disqualified by the court before the election.
The PDP’s agent, O.O. Osusu, said there were two subsisting court judgements before the conduct of the November 16 Governorship election, stressing that it was wrong for the APC to be on the ballot.
In separate speeches, governorship candidates of the Green Party, Eniye Zidougha, APGA, Fayeofori Bob-Manuel, Okiah Jones of Masses Movement of Nigeria(MMN) as well as several other guber candidates who spoke, lampooned INEC for declaring the candidate of the APC, Chief David Lyon winner.
According to them, despite obvious irregularities including the use of the Nigerian Army to intimidate voters and subvert the will of the people, the electoral body still went further to announce the results.
Lyon
The aspirants therefore, challenged INEC to produce the court order which cleared the APC to participate in Saturday’s governorship election.
They questioned the use of returning officers from one particular university at the collation center who they noted were influenced by the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomole to rig the polls.
They also berated the Army for its interference in the polls to favour the APC and called on the electoral umpire to declare Senator Douye Diri of the PDP as winner of the governorship election held on 16 November, 2019.
The Chairman of Ogbia local government area, Hon Ebinyon Turner recalled his ordeal in the hands of soldiers of the Division 6 of the Nigerian Army who arrested him and other party members during the election.
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