The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporters in Bayelsa state trooped out in their numbers to protest the outcome of last Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections in the state, accusing the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government of using the military and other security agencies to victimized voters.
The Secretary to Bayelsa state government, Mr Kemela Okara, who led the protesters along with the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mr Konbowei Benson and the PDP state Chairman, Moses Cleopas, accused APC and former governor Timipre Sylva of using the security forces and thugs to instigate violence during the election.
Okara, who spoke on behalf of the PDP protesters said: “We are here to signal and solicit that INEC does the right thing, their guidelines should guide everything they do, we believe that INEC address these hitches of card readers malfunction approximately.”
The party supporters who matched to the state office of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at Swali, Yenagoa, with placards, some with inscription, “APC used thugs to hijacked Akube materials to Ogboinbiri”, “INEC nullify the results”, “Bloodbath in Ekeremor”,” Lokpobiri stop the killings “ and several others urged the electoral body to cancelled the said results.
However, Timipre Sylva, who is also the state agent of APC in Bayelsa told Journalists PDP used violence perpetrated by hired thugs to undermined the will of electorate in places like Toro-Orua, Governor Dickson’s village and most of the places in Sagbama, Yenagoa and Kolokuma/Opokuma local governments.
He denied PDP accusation of APC using federal might to rig election, explaining that it was even PDP in connivance with the state police command that tried to relocate the collation centre from Brass local government to Yenagoa when the sensed that President Buhari and other APC candidates were winning the area, but were resisted by the youths.
He said: “Thugs arrested in Southern Ijaw accepted working for the local government chairman, who is Dickson appointee and not APC, our party is a peaceful party, we cannot cause violence to win election, we rather persuade the electorate and sale our manifesto to them.
“Look at places like Toro-Orua, Governor Dickson village, there was no election, if fact, our agent in Sagbama local government was chased out of the collation centre by PDP thugs, in Agudama and Ogbolo in Yenagoa materials were hijacked and results written in people’s houses.
INEC administrative secretary in the state, Mr Leberi Sampson, said the commission will look at all the areas where Card Readers malfunctioned because they are law guiding the institution.
