The Bayelsa State government has rejected votes allotted to President Muhammadu Buhari, presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress, and other candidates of the party in Nembe Bassambiri and Southern Ijaw Local Government Areas òf the state.
Henry Seriake Dickson, Borno State, said in a statement signed by his special adviser, Media Relations, Fidelis Soriwei, that elections did not take place in Nembe Bassambiri and Constituency 4 of Southern Ijaw.
The governor said that what happened in Nembe and Southern Ijaw was a blatant violation of the rights of the people to elect their leaders and representatives.
Governor Dickson stated further that a former governor of the State, Timipre Sylva, David Lion, an oil surveillance contractor, and officers and men of the Nigerian Army commandeered materials to non designated locations and held electoral officers hostage to allocate fake figures at gunpoint.
He said that it was the height of absurdity for the Independent National Electoral Commission whose staff have admitted and spoken out against the abduction and violence in the area to brandish a purported result for the seven wards of Nembe Bassambiri and Constituency 4 of Southern Ijaw.
According to the governor, army officers and men under their command compelled collation officers at gun point to concoct figures from non existent votes that were never captured by card readers.
He stressed that the electoral officers who were held hostage had written to INEC to say that they were made to sign the documents under duress.
The Governor called on the INEC to cancel of the figures from an election that never held and distance itself from the fake results.
He also called on the commission and the Nigerian Army to investigate the activities of their men in Nembe Bassambiri and Southern Ijaw for necessary sanction.
He urged Nigerians to discountenance the purported figures allotted to President Buhari and the other figures based on which APC candidates were declared winners of House òf Reps and Senate seats in Bayelsa East.
He said, “Our state condemn the purported result from constituency 4 of Southern Ijaw and the seven Nembe wards. We want the world and INEC to know that what happened in Nembe Bassambiri and Southern Ijaw Constituency 4 was a blatant assault on the rights of our people.
“There was no election, no vote, yet Timipre Sylva and David Lion, and his thugs backed by the Army commandeered electoral officials and materials to non designated locations and held them hostage to allocate fake figures.
“In the case of Brass, Army officers further compelled collation officers at gunpoint to allocate figures to their party, the APC, from votes that were never cast, votes that were never captured by card readers.
“We are calling INEC to announce cancellation and discountenance itself from this charade and investigate and punish all its officers who are complicit in this.
“We call on the Army authorities to do the same.
“Nigerians should discountenance the purported figures allotted to President Buhari and the other APC candidates based on which they are declared winners of House of Reps and Senate seats.”
The Governor said that Bayelsa and her people would do everything to fight brazen violation of the rights of the people to elect their leaders and representatives.