Politics Today

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday claimed that its candidate in the Bayelsa State Governorship election, Seriake Dickson, was leading in the supplementary election in the Southern Ijaw LGA and 101 units.
The party said the results collated by it in various polling units and wards across the state showed it had widened its initial lead.
PDP, in a statement that emanated from the Government House, said the PDP swept the polls in units and wards in Amassoma, Otuan, Ogbia, Nembe Ogbolomabiri, Ekpetiama and some other communities.
It said “The PDP, as at the time of filing this report, polled 7,234 votes while APC is having 1,948 votes. Decentralisation of election materials policy adopted by the Independent National Election Commission, (INEC) assisted in the early arrival of materials in some communities, even though there were reported cases of hijacking of election materials and violence in some areas.
“Voters, as reliably informed, were resolute in their determination to put the governorship election behind them which was declared inconclusive by INEC on December, 5 and 6, 2015.
“To ensure the success of the poll, the Nigeria Police Force deployed 5,000 officers to the various polling units across the state.
“Political thugs suspected to be working for the leading opposition party were not deterred by the presence of the security operatives as they unleashed terror on Ekeremor, Famgbe and Nembe communities.”
But the Sylva/Igiri Campaign Organisation (SICO) alerted security agencies to an alleged plot by Governor Seriake Dickson to seize broadcast stations and declare himself the winner of the poll.
SICO, in a statement by its Director, Media and Publicity, Chief Nathan Egba, appealed to security agencies to ensure that no one uses any of the broadcast stations in the state to either announce election result or incite people against the opposing political parties or the federal government.
Egba said: “It would be recalled that Governor Seriake Dickson of the PDP regrettably deployed the state owned radio station, Glory 97.1FM, Yenagoa and other broadcast stations to heighten the tension and incite the people to violence in the aftermath of the botched December 5th and 6th governorship poll.
“We decided to raise the issue to draw attention to the ongoing desperate attempts of Governor Dickson to arbitrarily announce concocted results through the social media and state –owned media organisations and declare himself winner of the governorship election.
“For the avoidance of doubt, it is to be noted that the purported attempts of Governor Dickson to either by himself, cronies or agents to declare himself winner is clearly in contravention of the Electoral Act as amended and also unconstitutional to the extent that such an action offends the clear provisions of the 1999 constitution that established the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”
Egba also asked Dickson to consider the criminal consequences of any attempt to declare himself as winner of the election, saying it would amount to usurping the powers of the electoral body, INEC.

Nation