The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has ignored the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomole by declaring the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the November 16 governorship election in the state.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, at a briefing on Friday in Abuja, said the commission received the certified copy of the Thursday’s Supreme Court judgement and thus declared the election conclusive.
This is at variance with Oshiomole’s declaration that no one should be declared winner and sworn-in in Bayelsa.
“The commission has received the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgement of the apex court which disqualified the Deputy Governorship candidate (of the APC) and vitiated the joint ticket of the party earlier declared winner in the election.
“The Court also ordered the Commission to “…declare as winner of the Governorship election in Bayelsa State the candidate with the highest number of lawful votes cast with the requisite constitutional (or geographical spread),” Yakubu said.
According to him, in compliance with the orders of the Supreme Court, the Commission met Friday morning and reviewed the result of the election in which 45 political parties contested, without the votes scored by the All Progressives Congress (APC), whose candidates were deemed not to have participated in the election.
Yakubu said that the total number of lawful and valid votes cast in the election now stand at 146,999 and that out of this figure, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored the highest number of lawful votes with 143,172.
He said the PDP similarly, scored more than 25 percent of the lawful votes cast in all the eight Local Government Areas of the State.
“Furthermore, the total number of registered voters in places where election was not held or cancelled as a result of sundry violations is 90,822. The candidate of the Accord party has the next highest score with 1,339 votes. The margin of lead between the candidates of the PDP and the Accord party is 141,833 votes. With this outcome, the election is conclusive at first ballot.
“Consequently, Senator Douye Diri and Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo of the PDP are hereby declared winners and returned elected as Governor and Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State respectively,” he said.
