Politics
Bayelsa Guber: Dickson, Sylva Share Opposing Views
L-R: APC National Auditor, Chief George Moghalu, APC National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun and Deputy Chairman, Chief Segun Oni, during the National Chairman’s interactive session with journalisist in Abuja on Wednesday.
The incumbent Governor
of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson and candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) lauded the cancellation of the poll in the area while the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship candidate Timipre Sylva described as disappointing the cancellation of Sunday’s rescheduled poll in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.
Sylva described INEC’s decision as a rape of democracy, stressing that he will not accept the cancellation.
According to him, ”We reject it completely. First and foremost, the Resident Electoral Commissioner has no powers to cancel an election which had duly taken place. It is only the Returning Officer that has powers to announce a cancellation or any other thing relating to an election such as this”.
“We had an election on Saturday. In Ekeremor, there was widespread shooting and they beat up a lot of APC members. The home of the Minister of State for Agriculture was under siege; his house was under fire for a long time. I had to call for re-enforcement before they could subdue the assailants in the morning.
“The assailants retreated and returned again in the evening but elections still held in Ekeremor that same day and returns were made. When APC protested, our protests were set aside and the elections were upheld because of one thing, because PDP won. If the APC had won, of course, the elections would probably have been set aside. They just put the figures together and submitted the figures and our protests died like a candle in the wind.
“In Sagbama, we did not see the electoral materials at all. Thugs besieged the local government. A top APC leader is today lying critically ill in the hospital with a broken arm he sustained running away from assailants. They held elections, of course nobody saw the materials and they just filled out the figures and submitted. The APC protested vehemently. Nobody heard our protests, elections were upheld.
“In Nembe Local Government Area, where the APC won clearly, they quickly cancelled two wards and re-conducted those elections on Sunday. On Sunday, no APC member saw any paper or anything at all relating to that election but votes were returned. We protested, our protests were rejected because the PDP won. If you look through, this election ab initio apparently, was set up for the PDP to win but we didn’t want to shout because we are a responsible party.
The Tide learnt that with the results from seven local government areas so far announced by the electoral umpire, Seriake is being trailed by his All Progressives Congress (APC) challenger, Timipre Sylva.
Dickson scored 105,745 votes against Sylva’s 72,594. The PDP flag bearer, who was leading his closest rival with 35, 154 votes before INEC declared the process inconclusive on Monday, tried to stop the election in the disputed council area, but failed.
The PDP applauded the cancellation of the Southern Ijaw election, which it described as a vindication of its earlier position that the commission erred by going ahead with the poll despite security concerns in the area.
In a statement by the Publicity Director of the Restoration Campaign Organisation, Jonathan Obuebite, the PDP said before the election was conducted, it had informed the electoral body and security authorities that the whole of Southern Ijaw had been taken over by thugs and criminal elements.
Obuebite stated that the PDP was for a free, fair and credible election and as such, election in Southern Ijaw must be conducted in an atmosphere that could guarantee the participation of the people.
He noted that as at 4pm on Sunday, election materials were still being distributed and wondered how such process could lead to a transparent election. He added that it was an orchestrated plan to rig the election as voting went on in the dead of the night.
He said the situation also afforded political thugs to infiltrate the polling units, snatching ballot boxes and intimidating voters under the close supervision of the military operatives.
Obuebite said the whole process was marred by apathy due largely to the wanton violence and mayhem unleashed by thugs and militants. The PDP accused INEC, the police and army of colluding with the APC to rig the election.
He said: “Before now, we knew that the SGF was coordinating the whole rigging plan and we alerted President Muhammadu Buhari and the public.They know they cannot win without rigging through violence and the whole world has seen what happened on Sunday. It was a rape of democracy.
“There was a premeditated effort on a multiple level of conspiracy to rig this election involving INEC, army and the police.
Rt Hon. Abbas secured the party’s ticket through an affirmation exercise conducted across the 13 electoral wards in the constituency.
The wards involved include Kwarbai A, Kwarbai B, Limancin-Kona, Unguwar Fatika, Unguwar Juma, Dutsen Abba, Gyallesu, Kufena, Dambo, Wuchichiri, Tudun Wada, Tukur-Tukur, and Kaura.
The exercise, which began simultaneously in all wards at about 10 a.m., recorded large turnout of APC members who gathered at various party offices across the constituency.
At Kwarbai B Ward, the Speaker’s ward, the process was conducted peacefully under the supervision of the ward APC Returning Officer, Malam Iliyasu Muhammad Balarabe, in the presence of Rt Hon. Abbas.
According to the ward APC secretary, Nafiu Sabo, the ward has over 10,000 registered members, but 220 members were accredited for the exercise.
Before the affirmation, Mallam Balarabe informed members that Rt Hon Abbas was the only aspirant who purchased nomination forms, underwent screening, and was cleared by the APC national leadership to contest the Zaria Federal Constituency seat.
Following a voice vote by accredited members, the Speaker was affirmed as the party’s candidate in the ward, a process replicated across the remaining 12 wards.
At the constituency collation centre, the APC Returning Officer for the House of Representatives primary in Zaria Federal Constituency, Dr. Hamisu Ibrahim Kubau, announced that 1,376 APC members across the 13 wards endorsed Rt Hon. Abbas as the party’s flag bearer.
He explained that although thousands of party members participated in the exercise, only accredited delegates were allowed to vote.
Dr. Kubau declared: “There are 13 wards in Zaria Federal Constituency, and only one aspirant purchased a form, was screened, and cleared. He is Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen. After due process, we conducted affirmations across all wards.”
He added that the process was peaceful and monitored by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and party representatives.
Chairman of the APC House of Representatives Primary Elections in Kaduna State, Senator Yakubu Oseni, described the outcome as a reflection of the Speaker’s popularity and acceptance among constituents.
He expressed confidence that Rt Hon Abbas would secure victory in the 2027 general elections.
Speaking after his declaration, Rt Hon. Abbas expressed appreciation to APC members for reaffirming their confidence in him.
The incumbent Reps including Emily Inyang and Godwin Offionio, in separate interviews
protested the handling of the primaries conducted by the leadership of the party in the state, saying it was skewed against them.
The aspirants further described the primaries as a charade and an embarrassment to the state.
According to them, the House of Representatives primaries fell short of the provisions of both the Electoral Act as amended in 2026 and the party’s constitution.
They accused the leadership of the party in the state, backed by Governor Bassey Otu, of violating the party’s constitution in the conduct of the House of Representatives primaries across the state on Saturday.
Hon. Godwin Offiono, representing Ogoja/Yala Federal Constituency, particularly expressed disappointment with the primary that allegedly disenfranchised registered members of the party in his constituency.
Hon. Offiono asserted that having failed to arrive at a consensus, the party leadership opted for a direct primary to decide the candidate for the 2027 election.
“But what I witnessed today was not only alarming, but quite disheartening that our electoral system have not shown any improvement, especially now that we have a man of God in the person of the governor as the leader of the party.
“How do you declare a result by 9:00am even when the electoral materials were yet to arrive at Yala.
“As an aspirant, I couldn’t even vote or see the materials for my own primary at my Okuku ward in Yala Local Government Area, where I come from. But no matter what happens I am still in the race and have not stepped down for anybody.
“The governor had all the time in the world to drive the process of consensus but he never did. As a representative, I cannot even see my governor. I called, no response. I sent text no reply. I am treated as an out cast,” he lamented.
In an emotion laden tone during a telephone interview, Hon. Offiono further said: “I could not believe that first term NASS members like me can be treated in this shoddy manner even when I don’t know my offence.
“I have been a loyal party man. I appeal to the governor to do the right thing, follow the Electoral Act and party constitution in electing representatives.”
Similarly, Hon. Emil Inyang of Akamkpa/Biase Federal Constituency said he still remained in the race and had not stepped down for anybody.
According to him, “If this shenanigan called primary is allowed to stand, it would affect the party’s fortune in the general elections.
“My appeal to the governor is to allow the people to decide. And if they so voted against me, I will rest and not fight over anything.
“There was no stakeholders meeting held to decide on anything before now, and someone can not be unilaterally imposed on us all in the name of compromised primary,” he stated.
A coalition of support groups within the All Progressives Congress (APC) has protested the disqualification of former presidential aspirant, Mr Tein Jack-Rich, from the Rivers West Senatorial race ahead of the party’s primaries for the 2027 general elections.
The groups, in a statement issued on Saturday morning in Abuja, described the action of the party’s screening committee as unjust and capable of worsening internal divisions within the APC in Rivers State.
The statement, signed by the coalition’s National Coordinator, Dr. Bilal Galadima, and General Secretary, Hon. James Ogenyi, accused the party leadership in Rivers State of favouring politicians loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, while sidelining long-standing members of the APC.
The coalition alleged that only aspirants aligned with Chief Wike were cleared to contest for elective positions in the state.
“How can our party allow only one man who is not a member of our party to make decisions or dictate the direction of our party?”, the group queried.
The coalition specifically faulted the exclusion of Mr Jack-Rich, describing him as a loyal party member who had supported the APC for more than 13 years and previously contested the party’s presidential ticket.
It also questioned the alleged clearance of Chief Felix Obua, whom it described as a recent entrant into the party and an ally of Chief Wike.
“How can our party disqualify Jack-Rich, a former presidential aspirant who has been loyal and supported our party for the last 13 years, only for our party to choose Felix Obua, a Wike loyalist who only joined the party three months ago?”, the statement read.
The group warned that failure by the APC leadership and National Working Committee (NWC) to address the matter as it could weaken the party’s structure in Rivers State ahead of the 2027 elections.
It called on party leaders to uphold internal democracy, reward loyalty and ensure a level playing field for all aspirants.
INEC TO BEGIN MEMBERSHIP VERIFICATION AS POLITICAL PARTIES SUBMIT REGISTER
All 22 registered political parties have successfully submitted their membership registers to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in compliance with the Electoral Act 2026, the Commission has said.
In a statement issued on Friday, Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr Mohammed Haruna, said the submission followed the extension granted by the Commission after political parties raised concerns during a meeting on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, regarding the timeline provided in the Revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 general elections.
He said, “The Commission is pleased to note that all registered parties submitted their registers as of 8th May 2026, two days before the extended deadline.”
He recalled that following a meeting with political parties, the Commission, in a statement issued on the 27th of March, 2026, adjusted the deadline for the submission of party registers from 21st April 2026 to 10th May 2026 to align with the provisions of Section 77(4) of the Electoral Act 2026 and the actual dates fixed by political parties for their primaries.
Mr Haruna noted that political parties were accordingly allowed to conduct their primaries within the approved period from 23rd April 2026 to 30th May 2026, while the register of party members was required to be submitted to the Commission not later than 21 days before the conduct of their respective primaries.
He added, “INEC wishes to state that all registered political parties complied with the requirement within the extended timeframe and will subject the submitted registers to the necessary verification processes in line with the law.”
The Commission restated its commitment to the conduct of free, fair, credible and inclusive elections.
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