Bayelsa Guber: INEC Declares APC Candidate, David Lyon Winner

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Monday, November 18th, 2019

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The candidate of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Governorship election Chief David Lyon, has been declared the winner.

Lyon won in six out of the eight Local Council areas of the south south state. His closest rival, Senator Douye Diri, the candidate of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won in both Sagabama and Kolokuma/Opokuma LGAs.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chief Returning Officer, Prof. Faraday Orumwense, had after release of the result of the Ekeremor Local Government Area – the last being expected by INEC Monday night, promised that the final result would be made public before 1am the same day.

Following his promise, Prof. Orumwense early hours of Monday, announced that Lyon polled a total of 352,552 votes to defeat his rival Diri, who polled 143,172 votes.

Lyon was declared winner in six out of the eight local governments announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission at the Prof. Mahmood Yakubu Media Centre in the state commission’s headquarters in Yenagoa, the state capital.

The six local government areas won by the APC include: Brass; Nembe; Ogbia, Southern Ijaw, Ekeremor and Yenagoa while the PDP won in the Sagbama and Kolokuma/Opokuma local government areas. Southeren Ijaw LGA has the highest number of registered voters in the State.

Lyon’s victory marks the first time the PDP would lose a governorship election in the

Specifically, in Sagbama LGA, the opposition APC polled 7, 831 votes against the PDP which scored 60,339 votes.

Similarly, Nembe LGA result, showed that the APC polled 83,041 votes while the PDP polled 874 votes.

In the Kolouma/Opokuma LGA, under Bayelsa Central senatorial zone, the APC scored 8,934 votes while the PDP scored 15,360 votes. In the Brass LGA, Bayelsa East, the APC defeated won with 23,831 votes as against 10,410 votes recorded by the PDP.

In the capital LGA of Yenagoa, the APC scored 24,607 votes, while the PDP got 19,184 votes.

Again, the PDP lost in the Ogbia LGA of the immediate former President Goodluck Jonathan. While APC candidate garnered 58,016 votes, Diri polled 13,763 votes.

In Southern Ijaw Local Government, the APC candidate polled 124,803 votes while his rival, the PDP candidate recorded 4,898 votes.

In the last LGA – Ekeremor Lyon defeated Diri with a total of 21,489 as against the PDP’s candidate’s 18,344 votes.

Meanwhile, Senator Diri has rejected the result of the poll as announced by the INEC.