Kogi, Bayelsa Polls: God will Judge INEC, IGP, PDP Cries Out
POLITICS DIGEST – The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidates in the November 16 elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states on Monday cried out over their losses at the just concluded polls.
The PDP governorship candidate in Kogi State, Engr. Musa Wada, condemned the outcome of Saturday’s election in the state, describing it as declaration and execution of war against Kogi people.
Wada also declared that the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, will account to God and the people for the roles they played in the election.
Speaking in the same vein, the PDP governorship candidate in Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, said he won Saturday’s election in the state and asked INEC to declare him winner.
In Kogi State, Governor Yahaya Bello of the APC polled 406,222 votes to defeat Wada who garnered 189,704 votes.
The APC repeated the same feat in Bayelsa where its candidate, David Lyon, won with 352,552 votes. APC’s closest rival, Duoye Diri of the PDP polled 143,172 votes.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja yesterday, Wada, alongside his running mate, Bamidele Aroh, said he would challenge the results of the election at the tribunal.
Wada argued that what happened in Kogi on Saturday was “an organised war against democracy, coup against the people and seizure of power through brigandage and the barrel of the gun with members of the police and other security agencies coordinating the stealing of the people’s votes.”
He accused the police of aiding suspected armed thugs of APC to invade polling units with impunity, shoot and kill voters.
According to him, the hoodlums carted away ballot boxes to government facilities where results were written in favour of APC and handed over to INEC to announce against the will of the people.
Wada said: “Police helicopters were used to attack polling units, fire tear gas on voters and provide cover to APC hoodlums and policemen who brutalized the people of Kogi State and stole their mandate.
“The APC turned our state into a theatre of war. No fewer than nine innocent Nigerians were killed. Many more were maimed and injured by the APC in their desperation to seize power at all cost.
“It is, therefore, distressing that INEC went ahead with a shameful collation and declaration of fabricated results despite the glaring disruptions that characterized the shambolic exercise.
“In order to achieve this ignoble goal, INEC cancelled our votes in areas of our strongholds, subtracted from our votes in many other areas and padded the votes of APC to give a semblance of victory for APC.”
He said people of Kogi were horrified, brutalized and dehumanized, adding that there have been weeping across the state since the announcement of another four years of Yahaya Bello was made.
He added: “We, therefore, stand with the people of Kogi to state without equivocation that this brigandage and stealing of our mandate cannot stand.
“We will never despair, but remain strong in our determination to retrieve the mandate freely given to us by the people in their desire for a change.
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“We will pursue this course to its logical conclusion within the confines of the law of this country.
“We commend the people of Kogi State for their resilience in the face of all intimidation. They showed, once again, that nobody can suppress their will at any time.
“Our campaign mourns our compatriots that were killed by the APC; their blood demand for justice and we will ensure that they did not die in vain.”
The PDP candidate insisted that the INEC chairman and IGP would account to God and the people for their roles “if not in this world, then certainly in the hereafter.”
He called on all Nigerians to stand with the people of Kogi State at this trying time as they quest for the restoration of their mandate in the election.
Meanwhile, Diri, who briefed reporters in Yenagoa, said that the results monitored by his party’s Situation Room in the eight local government areas of the state, showed in clear terms that he won the Bayelsa poll and should be declared the governor-elect.
The governorship candidate, who announced 98,582 as the total figure scored by the PDP, said the APC 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 APC got 2,525.
According to him, the PDP polled 9,903 votes and the APC had 7,976 votes in Ogbia while the PDP scored 12,225 in Southern Ijaw LGA and APC got 9,542 votes in same council.
Diri claimed that the PDP polled 21,165 votes in Yenagoa and the APC scored 15,560 votes while in Sagbama, the PDP got 60,339 and APC had 7,831 votes.
He further explained that the PDP polled a total of 21,381 votes in Ekeremor while the APC scored 8,780 votes.
Also in Kolokuma/Opokuma, he noted that the PDP had 12,110 votes and APC polled 6,659 votes while in Nembe, PDP polled 24 and APC had 908 votes.
Diri contended that it was illegal for the APC to have contested the governorship election because of a subsisting court judgement, urging the electoral commission to disqualify the APC.
He stressed that he did not contest the election against the APC candidate, who was returned winner by INEC, saying the party had already been disqualified by the court before the election.
Also speaking, the PDP’s agent, Chief 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 remarks, some governorship candidates, including Eniye Zidougha (Green Party), Fayeofori Bob-Manuel (All Progressive Grand Alliance), Okiah Jones (Masses Movement of Nigeria), lampooned INEC for declaring Lyon as winner.
They lamented that 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 ahead to announce the results.
They also berated the Army for allegedly interfering in the polls to favour the APC and called on the electoral umpire to declare Senator Diri of the PDP as winner of the governorship election.
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.
