Hundreds of aggrieved supporters of the
All Progressives Congress on Wednesday threw Yenagoa, the
Bayelsa State
capital, into pandemonium as they protested the cancellation of the
result of the state governorship election from the Southern Ijaw Local
Government Area of the state.
The protesters, comprising youths, women
and persons with disabilities, gathered at the party secretariat in
Yenagoa, from where they marched to the state office of the Independent
National Electoral Commission on Swali Road.
As the angry protesters trekked about
four kilometres to the INEC headquarters in the state, the entire
Yenagoa metropolis had a full dose of gridlock, which virtually locked
down the metropolis.
Onlookers and residents joined them in
the demonstration as the protesters, who were under the cover of riot
policemen, sang solidarity and war songs as they made their way through
Yenagoa-Mbiama Road, via Imgbi road, en route the INEC office.
When they got to the INEC office, they
were however prevented from entering into the premises by scores of
security operatives that mounted guard at the entrance of the electoral
agency.
The protesters were asked to maintain
peace and order and wait outside the premises before they could be
attended to by INEC officials.
The protesters were unanimous in their
request, “INEC, give us our votes in Southern Ijaw and declare our
leader and candidate of the APC, Chief Timipre Sylva, the
governor-elect.”
They accused the State Resident
Electoral Commissioner, Baritor Kpagih, of fraud, saying he subverted
the collective will of the electorate.
They said the REC cancelled the Southern
Ijaw election, which results had already been collated, but waiting for
announcement as Sylva won in SILGA by a landslide.
They vowed that hell would be let loose
if INEC failed to announce the poll results as they were and return
Sylva as the governor-elect of Bayelsa.
The protesters said INEC must declare
the Southern Ijaw results or also cancel the results of Ekeremor,
Sagbama and Yenagoa, which they claimed were marred by violence and
irregularities.
The protesters further demanded the sacking of the REC, alleging that he was a bad influence and an election rigger.
The protesters, who conducted their
demonstration peacefully, brandished banners and placards with
inscriptions such as, “The Resident Electoral Commissioner does not have
the power to cancel an election already declared by the returning
officer,” “INEC must disqualify Governor Seriake Dickson for personally
moving to Southern Ijaw to order violent attacks on APC members.”
Others bore the inscriptions such as
“Mr. Baritor Kpagih, INEC REC should be sacked,” “We demand INEC to
declare the Southern Ijaw results”, “Bayelsans reject the cancellation
of Southern Ijaw results,” and “Ijaw people reject and also say no to
dictatorial and draconian leadership of Dickson.”
Speaking on behalf of the protesting
party faithful, a chieftain of the APC, Mr. Famous Danaumougha, said
they had come to send a message to the commission that election was
conducted in Southern Ijaw and that the results should be announced.
He said the APC was leading in that election, wondering why INEC refused to announce the results.
He said the INEC officer that cancelled
the results had no reason to do so, as the election results had been
collated for announcement.
“The REC was too much in a hurry to
cancel that election. If it had been the Returning Officer, we would not
have raised an eyebrow. The REC was so biased. We demand the
announcement of that result,” he said.
He said their appeal was very simple, the results should be announced to avoid escalation of crisis in the state.
Another speaker for the protesters, Mr.
Egba Alfred, a former member of Bayelsa State House of Assembly, said
INEC must, without hesitation, announce the SILGA results, which he
claimed the APC won overwhelmingly.
“Our message is simple: the APC had 25
per cent of the six LGAs that were declared, and SILGA that the APC won
round and square was cancelled. This is unacceptable. INEC has no power
to cancel election that has been collated,” Alfred said.
Responding amidst the grievance of the
protesters, INEC Head of Operations, Mr. O. Victor, told them that their
grievances had been understood and that he would transmit them to the
relevant authorities.
He told them that the REC would have
been there personally to address them but for his trip to the INEC
national headquarters in Abuja.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party,
Bayelsa State, has described the protest as the APC’s plan to unleash
mayhem through violent activities to trigger the declaration of a state
of emergency.
The Director, RCO, Mr. Jonathan
Obuebite, urged the people of the state to take utmost precaution to
steer clear of the protesters and guard against any form of molestation.
He pointed out that the aim of the
protest was to create violence and disrupt the peace of the state to
compel the APC-led Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on
Bayelsa.
The development, he noted, would make it
impossible for INEC to hold the rescheduled election in Southern Ijaw
Local Government Area and create a stalemate until such a time that
Dickson’s term in office would have expired.
Obuebite said, “We are 
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