Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, on Saturday praised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the innovation it has introduced to the electoral process and the measures taken so far to sanitize the conduct of elections in the country.
Ewhrudjakpo gave the commendation while speaking with newsmen shortly after casting his vote at about 8:50am in the Ubrogbo polling Unit Six of Sagbama Ward 4 in his hometown Ofoni.
The deputy governor noted with delight INEC’s electoral innovation in terms of easing the voting process and management of the result sheets, adding that such would not only promote transparency but also restore the people’s confidence in the electoral body.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo who described the voting process in his community as smooth and peaceful, maintained that INEC’s achievements in Edo and Ondo States as well as the success of Saturday’s bye-elections across the country would improve the current rating of the umpire.
The deputy governor, however, condemned the skirmishes that took place in some parts of Sagbama Local Government Area, particularly in Agbere and Agoro communities, where electoral materials were allegedly burnt.
Ewhrudjakpo, who pointed accising figgers at the opposition All Progressive Congress, APC, for the violence, called on the Bayelsa political class to play politics with decency and integrity.
According to him, “the APC knows full well that the Peoples Democratic Party will win the two senatorial bye-elections in Bayelsa fair and square, that is why they are resorting to violence and other undemocratic measures to mar the process.”
He thanked INEC for the process, which he noted was going on smoothly and peacefully in Ofoni.
He added that the introduction of the Z-Pad “is a major step to prevent people from hijacking genuine results or bringing in fake results. We are sure that with what INEC has done in Edo and Ondo States, we and every right thinking Nigerian will appreciate, if they also get today’s by-elections right.”
“But let me use this opportunity to condemn the level of skirmishes in some parts of Sagbama Local Government Area, which we believe were orchestrated by the opposition APC because they don’t even have a candidate,” the deputy governor said.
According to him, “The report I have is that the materials for Ward One in Agbere and Ward Eleven in Agoro were burnt down. That is not democracy. Politicians should do away with such negative electoral practices.”
“INEC and the security agencies should rise up to the occasion so that the electorate out there can exercise their franchise so that we don’t have any unnecessary run-off because that is what some people are planning, ” he posited.
“Ewhrudjakpo, however, expressed confidence that his party would win the election convincingly “because Bayelsa West is PDP. Bayelsans should remain calm because what the APC is doing is like a man who does not have anything in a boat trying to cause a wave to capsize.”
Responding to enquiries from newsmen who were on ground to monitor the election, INEC’s Presiding Officer in the unit, Miss Adebayo Ifeoluwa and a domestic observer under the auspices of Mission for Education, Social and Health, Archbishop Alex Eseimokumoh, both attested to the peaceful nature of the election in Ofoni community.
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