2023 ELECTIONS: Gov Diri Faults LP Chair On Election Manipulation Claim

Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has described as false a claim by the Labour Party (LP) National Chairman, Mr. Julius Abure, that the declared results of last Saturday’s election were taken to the Government House in Yenagoa and manipulated.

Mr Abure alleged that the presidential and National Assembly elections results were manipulated in the Government House of Bayelsa and two other states.

The LP chairman made the claim during a joint press conference with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Abuja on Tuesday following the controversy over the presidential election results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Dismissing the statement as false and lacking substance, Governor Diri exonerated Bayelsa from the LP leader’s claim and advised him to make statements he can substantiate.

The governor, who responded through a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, said such comment was thoughtless and capable of undermining the democratic process at a time the country was at a political crossroads.

“As a government, we take strong exceptions to such a thoughtless comment from a party chairman. It is expected of leaders not to make claims they cannot substantiate.

“In Bayelsa, there was no interference of any sort in the electoral process, particularly from our government. The elections were generally peaceful across the state and there were no reported cases of intimidation of voters or the electoral officials.

“I speak specifically about Bayelsa and cannot hold brief for any other state. The Bayelsa Government House is not a collation centre neither is it a polling unit. It was therefore wrong for the LP chairman to make such a broad claim on national television without concrete proof.”

By Victor Kachi