April 06, (THEWILL) – The local government elections in Bayelsa State witnessed the late arrival of officials of the Bayelsa State Independent Electoral Commission (BYSIEC) and election materials at polling units in some parts of the state.
BYSIEC had announced that materials and officials were expected to arrive at their centres/polling units on time but the situation was different in places like the Ofoni community in Sagbama Local Government Area of the state where the materials arrived by 9am and casting of vote commenced by 10:30am.
Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewrudjakpo, who cast his vote at the Community Primary School in Ofoni, by 10:36am, said the late arrival of election materials is the only criticism he has for the Commission, adding that elections in Nigeria must improve in terms of the fairness, credibility and quality.
He said, “You can see, the community has just gathered, the materials have just arrived. The only criticism is that the materials are arriving a little bit late and that is the only criticism I have for BYSIEC as far as these issues are concerned. I believe they will learn their ropes. It is a gradual process, it is a new curve they are going into and I believe they will improve on it.
“But for sure, you know that Ofoni is PDP and the whole of Sagbama is PDP. You are also aware that in the last governorship election, it was only in Sagbama that APC did not get up to 25%. So, we don’t expect anything different from that. The voting will be going on. I just cast my vote. The process is going on fairly, squarely and transparently.
“The turnout will be massive, the materials have just arrived. It is a local election and politics is more local. Emotions and sentiment are higher than the governorship election. Let them come out en masse and support their councillors and the chairmanship candidate.
“PDP is winning all the eight seats and we are sure of winning at least hundred and three councilorship votes. We may give one or two to other parties, depending on what the strengths of the other people are. But in Ofoni, it is a no-go area for other parties.”
The Deputy Governor also noted that the Douye Diri-led administration has taken local governance seriously, adding that the State Government has recalibrated the duties and roles of the local government in the state.
“Local government should not be a pay point, it must not be a POS, it is not a point of payment of service. Local governments are supposed to be the first unit of development and that is what we are doing now. Even our RDA which is functioning, you are aware they are awarding contracts because we want them to be very effective.
“They are very close to the people and they understand the developmental challenges of the people which they will address and then we will address at a higher level. This is very important to us and that is why we are doing everything possible, turning every stone to make sure that elections are held today,” Ewrudjakpo added.
About the Author
Amos Okioma is a Correspondent at THEWILL
