The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timipre Sylva, has cast his vote at Dukuraku Central Open Space in his hometown of Okpoama, in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Mr Sylva, who arrived at the polling unit around 12:30 p.m., accused the Nigerian Army of conniving with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state to manipulate the election.
He said the military and the PDP are preventing his supporters from voting in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state.
“Around the state, there is a lot of violence that the PDP is doing, trying to molest our voters. In some cases, it is believed that we are not running the election against the PDP, but the security.
|
|
|---|
“We have the situation where the Army in Bayelsa State has taken over some areas. I have spoken to some people, who said the Army is teaming up with the PDP to snatch ballots. Frankly, security agents in Bayelsa must be called to order. They are really playing on the side of the PDP,” Mr Sylva said.
APC is in power at the federal level and therefore controls the military and all the security structures in the country.
READ ALSO: #BayelsaDecides2023: Gov Diri commends INEC, raises concern over Nembe
Mr Sylva also stated that INEC failed to upload the registers of some polling units into the BVAS machines, adding that the failure of INEC has caused delays in some polling units.
The candidate said INEC agreed to extend the voting period in these polling units.
“We have some issues in units 3, 5 and 9. The registers were not uploaded. We have escalated it to INEC and they accepted that it was a careless mistake on their part. I Don’t know why units in my ward were not uploaded. I know that the problem is being rectified” he said.
Mr Sylva and 14 other candidates are challenging the incumbent governor, Douye Diri, of the PDP in the off-season election.
Support PREMIUM TIMES' journalism of integrity and credibility
Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.
For continued free access to the best investigative journalism in the country we ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.
By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you are helping to sustain a journalism of relevance and ensuring it remains free and available to all.
DonateTEXT AD: Call Willie - +2348098788999
