Diri Leads in Bayelsa, as INEC Adjourns Collations till Monday

Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Gov Douye Diri, is leading with 138, 009 votes in Saturday’s Bayelsa Governorship Election, while Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is trailing behind with 74, 255 votes in six out of the eight local government areas announced so far.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has postponed collation and announcement of the remaining two LGAs till 12 noon Monday.

The State Returning Officer, Prof Farouk Kuta, who is the Vice Chancellor of Federal University of Technology, Minna, said the postponement was as a result of the challenges and difficulties in collation in some of the units in two of the most difficult to reach local government areas.

In the results released so far, the PDP won five out of the six local government areas officially announced by the INEC, while the APC won only in one local government in the off-cycle governorship election.

The local government areas so far announced are Kolokuma/Opokuma, Yenagoa, Ogbia, Sagbama, Nembe, and Ekeremor while the results from Brass and Southern Ijaw LGA are yet to be declared before INEC suspended its collation.

According to the results announced so far, PDP scored 37,777 votes while APC got 14,534 votes in Yenagoa while in Kolokuma/Opokuma PDP got 18,465 votes and APC got 5,349 votes.

Also, the PDP polled 18,435 votes in Ogbia while APC scored 16,319 votes; PDP secured 35,504 votes in Sagbama with APC polled 6608 votes; PDP had 23,172 votes in Ekeremor, APC scored 8445 while in Nembe, APC polled 22,248 votes while PDP got 4556 votes.

Chief Timipre Sylva had suffered a huge set back following the cancellation of  over 26,000 votes purportedly recorded in Ward 11,12 and 13 of Mini, Ikensi and Oluasiri in Nembe Local Government area.

The cancellation followed the protest by stakeholders, particularly members of the PDP over the hijack of election materials by suspected APC thugs in Nembe-Bassambiri and refusal to allow voters, including supporters of the PDP to cast a single vote.

The PDP also alleged that most of the votes purportedly recorded by the APC in the area were cooked and were ‘voodoo votes’ that should be cancelled.

The votes from Mini, Ikensi and Oluasiri communities were thereby cancelled after the INEC officials reviewed the PDP arguments.

Confirming the development, the PDP agent for the Ward, Douglas Etulankimor Sampson said it was regrettable for APC to deny almost 30,000 voters in the ward opportunity to cast their votes.

But in his response while addressing newsmen in an interview, the state chairman and party agent of APC, Barr. Dennis Otiotio, frowned at the cancellation of wards 11, 12 and 13 in Nembe local government area which he described as the APC strongholds.