The governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Engr Udengs Eradiri, has said that the forthcoming Bayelsa State Governorship Election is an opportunity for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to redeem its image by proving that it is capable of conducting a free, fair and transparent election in across Nigeria.
Speaking during a media briefing at his campaign office in Yenagoa, Udengs alleged that some of his fellow contestants have confided in him that they have saved money to clone Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) to win the forthcoming election instead of campaigning for the votes of the people.
He further expressed worries that if the leadership of INEC fails to put modalities in place to tackle these concerns, some officials of the Commission may jeopardize the integrity and credibility of the election, thereby killing the trust and confidence of electorates.
He said, “Some of my fellow contestants have already started talking about how they will clone BVAS. We will tell INEC to tell the code of every BVAS that goes to all the units on election day so that they will not create another round of crisis in the Niger Delta.
“And you know some of my fellow contestants are still living in the past, and that is why during their primaries, they wrote results instead of going through the process. So as participants in this election, we using this opportunity to notify the INEC that people are ready to buy for the election.
“They should not be so cheap in an election that is about the will and future of the people. They should not reduce our election into a process of buying and selling because people have gathered money to bribe the INEC to conduct the election in their favour. INEC should use this election to prove they still have integrity and are transparent.”
While reeling out his campaign agenda tagged “PEAP,” he said his plan is to put Bayelsans back on track by re-energizing the people to take ownership of governance so that they can bring their best to support the government to succeed and, in turn, help the state to prosper.
He further said, “I have come up with a very precise agenda to deal with the issues bedeviling our state, and I called it the PEAP agenda. The first P is the People. I believe that if we get Bayelsans right on track if we can re- energies the people, the state will get back on track. So I will be working with the people by running a participatory leadership.
“And once the people realize that it is their contribution that will lead to a better society, then you will see all Bayelsans waking up and bringing their best to support the government. No government will succeed without the people, and that’s why the most priority in the agenda is the People.
“The next is E which means Employment. We are going to employ teachers, train and ensure that they are well-packaged and enviable by other sectors. We will upgrade the educational facilities in our schools. In every other state, schools use electronic displays to teach, the internet, and data.
“We will upgrade the facilities, and we are going to build the university village where there will be accommodation for lecturers and students, and there will be recreational centres so that if you come to school in Bayelsa, you will realize that you are in a proper environment.
“The third one is A for Agriculture. It is through agriculture we are going to stimulate the economy. In Bayelsa, sugar cane is growing freely in places like Southern Ijaw. We are going to produce sugar in Bayelsa, I have seen what is done in Brazil, Argentina, and other countries.
“I was given sugarcane as sugar, and I told him I am going to produce sugar in Bayelsa. If I gather Southern Ijaw women and ask them to give me 1000 sugarcane, I will give you N1 million you can imagine the quantum of sugarcane that will be harvested there. We are going to have a Bayelsa Microfinance bank which we will use to support small-scale businesses.”