On Wednesday in Abuja, the All Progressives Congress and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, announced conflicting election results for Bayelsa State’s governorship election on November 11, 2023.
The disputed election results were presented to the Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja.
While INEC submitted verified results, APC polling unit agents submitted varying results based on where they represented the party.
Despite the fact that various parties protested to the two contradicting outcomes, the tribunal’s chairman, Justice Adekunle Adeleye, acknowledged both as exhibits for the tribunal to consider during the petition hearing.
Timipre Sylva, a former Minister of Petroleum, and his party, the APC, had brought INEC, the elected Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, his Deputy, Lawrence Ewhirujakpo, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, before the tribunal.
The petitioners are requesting that the tribunal rule that the election took occurred in three distinct local government areas where INEC claimed it did not conduct polls owing to alleged diversion of election materials and disruptions of the election process as a result of BVAS machine bypass.
The three impacted local governments are southern Ijaw, Ogbia, and Nembe.
At the start of the hearing on the case, an APC polling unit agent, Odungele Moses, read aloud his witness statement on oath, which he deposed on December 1, 2023.
Led in evidence by Tunde Falola, counsel for the petitioners, the witness stated that the election took place in his polling unit 15, Ward 4, and that he presented a result that he claimed was issued to him by the INEC presiding officer.
However, during cross-examination by Chief Chris Uche SAN, counsel to Governor Diri, the witness testified that, despite the fact that 16 political parties competed in the governorship election, only the APC, which he represented as an agent, signed the results he gave.
He did not explain why 15 others did not sign.
Another witness, Mallory Afin, who also testified for the petitioners, presented APC results with the same serial number and number of accredited voters as INEC, but with varying numbers of votes recorded for other political parties.
During cross-examination by Counsel to Governor Diri, it was established that the results submitted by the APC in Ward 002 were prepared and signed by the same presiding officer as Ward 015.
Meanwhile, Justice Adekunle Adeleye has set a new hearing date on February 15th.
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