On Monday, hundreds of women and youth from the Yenagoa Local Government Area (LGA) of Bayelsa State took to the streets of the State capital calling for the cancellation of the Governorship elections in the area.
On Monday, hundreds of women and youth from the Yenagoa Local Government Area (LGA) of Bayelsa State took to the streets of the State capital calling for the cancellation of the Governorship elections in the area.
The protesters cited concern that there were widespread polling irregularities in Yenagoa and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was inconsistent in announcing election results.
The aggrieved women and youth claimed the inconsistencies announced by INEC indicated a bias amongst the INEC officials against the All Progressives Congress (APC). The State Youth Leader of APC, Edison Sorgwe, and a Party leader Alawei Opukeme-Jonah, both claimed that the results announced by INEC were inconsistent with the number of rejected and cancelled votes.
Citing INEC’s decision to cancel elections in the Southern Ijaw LGA, the APC Party stalwarts called for the cancellation of the Governorship election in Yenagoa, claiming that similar instances of ballot snatching and violence occurred in Yenagoa as well. APC leaders claimed that 8 members of the Party were hospitalized due to injuries sustained from “political thugs”.
It will be recalled that SaharaReporters reported that APC leaders worked with military and police to intimidate voters and officials in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). APC leaders and corrupt security officials stole ballot boxes, kidnapped civilians and election officials, and used thugs to intimidate the public. As a result, of these actions, the elections in the Southern Ijaw LGA were cancelled by INEC.
The APC, however, came out against this decision and called for INEC to instead cancel elections in the LGAs of Sagbama, Yenagoa, Ekeremor. and Nembe. “We are against the cancellation of Southern Ijaw Local Government election," Mr. Sorgwe stated.