The Youth Network of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to avoid putting Nigerians through another round of heartaches during the Bayelsa November 11 gubernatorial election.
In a statement, Mr. James Oputin, the coordinator of the group, said the discordant tunes emanating from INEC on the issue of the electronic transmission of results are creating so much doubt and tension.
He said while the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Ofiong Efanga, shocked Bayelsans by saying that INEC will adopt manual transmission of election results, which Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, the Chairman, has come out to debunk.
Yakubu had stated that the results of the November 11 gubernatorial elections in Imo, Bayelsa, and Kogi states would be transmitted electronically.
Ironically, Oputin said the people are skeptical of INEC’s conflicting declarations from the federal and state levels on the sensitive issue of electronic transmission of results, which is expected to drastically reduce the incidence of electoral violence in the state.
He stated that Nigerians have not forgotten how the same INEC under Yakubu suddenly opted to transmit the result of the presidential election manually after weeks of intense media reassurances to Nigerians that the election results would be transmitted electronically.
He implored INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmud Yakubu to prepare the minds of the Bayelsa voters and stakeholders on what to expect, as most people seem to have dismissed his statement as yet another ambush on Election Day.
“The PDP Youth Network has observed with serious concern the conflicting remarks about the issue of the deployment of electronic transmission of results in the Bayelsa governorship elections scheduled for November 11.
“We call on the Nigeria public to hold INEC accountable to its words. We also challenge Mahmud and his team to ensure that promises made to Nigerians are not seen as attempts to lay ambush on Election Day.”
Oputin also called on Efanga, the Bayelsa REC, to address the press on the disturbing conflict on the issue of the planned deployment of electronic transmission of results.
He said that it is a difficult task to persuade a person who has been a victim of trust-related disappointment to believe a person carrying an albatross of trust.
The PDP youth leader disclosed that what the PDP and the Bayelsa people expect from INEC is impartial conduct in the coming election. He emphasized that the overwhelming popularity of Governor Douye Diri, who has executed projects his opponent’s domain once considered impossible, is what the party needs to retain the Creek Haven, Yenagoa, Government House.
Oputin said that the Bayelsa people are pleased with Diri, who has secured stability in the state apart from projects such as the Central Senatorial Road and the Nembe-Brass Road, which are continuations of many huge projects he inherited from his predecessor, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson.
“As a party, we only need the soaring popularity of Governor Douye Diri, who has performed above expectations, to retain political control in the state.”
