INEC declares Diri winner of Bayelsa election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, the winner of the just-concluded governorship election in the state.

Diri polled 175,196 votes to defeat his closest rival of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former petroleum minister, Chief Timipre Sylva, who scored 110,108 with the Labour Party candidate, Udengs Eradiri, scoring 905 to come a distant third.

The governor won in six out of the eight local government areas as he coasted home to victory in Yenagoa, Kolokuma-Opokuma, Sagbama, Ekeremor, Ogbia, and Southern Ijaw while Sylva won in Brass and Nembe local government areas.

But the agent of the APC, Dennis Otiotio, said his party would not sign the result sheet because the party’s over 84,000 collated votes were cancelled by INEC at the commission’s office.