Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State Monday, said his re-election was a clear indication that Nigeria will never be a one party state.
He also described the January 9 supplementary election in Southern Ijaw and some local government areas of the state as a “war”, which the people of the state won by returning him as their governor for a second term.
After the tally of votes in the December 6 main election and the supplementary poll on January 9, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared Dickson of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, winner with 134,998 votes.
His main challenger, Timipre Sylva of All Progressives Congress, APC, came second with 86,852 votes but he has vowed to challenge the results at the election tribunal.
Speaking to journalists yesterday in Abuja, Dickson said he and his people survived a full deployment of forces meant to forcefully take over the state but expressed joy that the will of the people finally prevailed.
He also wondered why President Muhammadu Buhari did not follow the precedence set by former President Goodluck Jonathan by congratulating him on his victory.
Dickson, however, advised the APC flag bearer, Sylva, to accept the outcome of the election as the will of God and jettison his plan to go to court.
“My opponent’s campaign was nicknamed ‘Operation Takeover’ but our people stood by us. Women formed walls with their bodies around polling units in order to protect their votes. What happened in Bayelsa is therefore a significant development for our democracy. Nigeria’s democracy is on track and it also means that Nigeria will not be a one party state”, he said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment