Bayelsa poll: PDP candidate Diri insists he won, accuses INEC, Army of favouring APC
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Saturday’s governorship election in Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, said on Monday that he won the election.
He called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare him the winner. .
INEC declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Chief David Lyon the winner. He scored 352, 552 votes to trounce Diri, who got 143,172 votes.
Diri spoke with reporters in Yenagoa. He said INEC and the Army connived with the APC to rob him and the PDP of their victory.
He claimed that results collated from the PDP situation room indicated that he won Lyon in all the local government areas. He gave a figure of what he said were the authentic results.
He added that based on the court judgment, the APC was not on the ballot and any vote for it would be voided.
“I am the winner of the just concluded elections. I am the winner even though INEC decided to look the other way. I am not just saying that PDP is the winner, because we had a situation room and reports from our situation room indicated I won the election. Based on this result, PDP and its candidate won the of the election.”
He claimed that the APC should not have participated in the election and wondered why INEC would not produce the court order that directed it to include APC on the ballot.
He said: “We believe that the subsisting court judgment that disqualified APC as of the time the election was conducted. The request by PDP agent at the state collation centre, Dr Don Osusu that INEC should produce the order which made APC presence during collation legitimate was ignored.
“We urgently call on INEC to declare me winner. It is only shameful and laughable that INEC would manufacture figures. For us the rule of law is under threat in this democracy; anarchy is looming in this democracy, democracy is being raped. All the figures reeled out are a charade and a ruse”
Also speaking, governorship candidates of the Green Party, Eniye Zidougha, APGA, Fayeofori Bob-Manuel, Okiah Jones of Masses Movement of Nigeria lampooned INEC for declaring 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.They questioned the use of returning officers from one particular university at the collation center who they noted were influenced by the APC National secretariat to rig the polls.
They also berated the Army for “interference in the polls to favour the APC” and called on the electoral umpire to declare Diri the winner
