The Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr Timipre Sylva, has commended the credible manner the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary in Bayelsa was conducted, describing it as peaceful.
He made the commendation after casting his vote Wednesday in Okpoama Ward 4.
“APC is the only hope for Bayelsa, having witnessed years of suffering through the misrule in the state.
“Yes, we are going to win, come Nov. 16, APC will give new hope to our people.
“I’m happy that at last, we had a very peaceful and orderly primary here in Okpoama ward 4 and other wards.
“They conducted themselves in an orderly manner and queue behind the candidates of their choice.
“I am happy that our members are still in the high spirit and the primary went on very well.
“That shows the readiness of APC to win Bayelsa state and I believe our candidate will be better than whoever the other parties will present.
“We decided to adopt the direct primary where everybody is involved, every member of the party will partake in it, this is the test of what we present at the general election,” the minister said.
News Agency of Nigeria reports that the exercise was conducted in all the 105 wards across the the state simultaneously.
Meanwhile, Chief David Lyon, has emerged the standard flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), for the November 16 Bayelsa state governorship election.
According to the results announced by the collation officer, Senator Emmanuel Ocheja, the oil magnate, Chief Lyon polled a total of 42,138, votes to defeat five other aspirants.
Mrs Desiye Nsirim, came a distant second with 1,533, while Chief Ebitimi Amgbare came third with 633 votes.
The immediate past Minister of state for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, polled 571 votes to come fourth while Prof Ongoebi Etebu and Prince Preye Aganaba got 564 and 354 votes respectively.
Senator Ocheja, who was flanked by the other national and state officers of the party, said he was standing in for the returning officer and governor of Yobe state, Ibrahim Gaidam, whom he disclosed was unavoidable absent.
He pointed out that six aspirants contested the election, adding that the mode of the primaries was ‘Direct Primaries’ ‘Option A-4, ‘adopted by the state stakeholders and leaders of the party in the state and the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.
