Candidate of the Labour Party in the just concluded Bayelsa State Governorship elections, Udengs Eradiri has rejected the results from the polls.
The LP candidate who came distant third with 905 votes has revealed that he and his team are studying the declared results and will disclose their next line of action.
Eradiri, in a press conference held at his campaign secretariat, Yenagoa Bayelsa State, alleged major irregularities in the polls, adding that the electoral guide lines were totally ignored.
Udengs alongside his running mate, Commodore Benjamin Nathus, retd, called on Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe all INEC officials involved in the elections.
In his words:
“The election on Saturday, November 11, was marred by massive and mind-blowing vote-buying. We were shocked that the state government converted all the polling units to market squares and business centres where votes were auctioned, haggled over, bargained for and purchased.
“The state government emptied our vault and carelessly deployed billions of our commonwealth to induced and compromise voters.
“Our state resources, which unconfirmed sources put at over N80bn were used to intimidate our traumatized people, who have been impoverished by this government.
The government of Douye Diri deliberately weaponised poverty and forced the people to sell their consciences for money at the poll.
“I consider vote-buying a crime against humanity cannot engage in vote-buying because it is a demonstration of lack of performance, unpopularity, incompetence, leadership failure and cluelessness on the part of the buyer.
How can you bribe people to serve them?
“I am surprised that this government resorted to vote-buying because I have always
emphasized on his incompetence.
I am only shocked at the level it took the malfeasance to.
This government bought each vote as much as N70,000 in some places. The state government has added another record to its bag of incompetent achievements making the November 11 Bayelsa election the most monetized poll in the history of the country.”
The Labour Party candidate while speaking also expressed his lack of regrets in contesting in the polls, adding that the campaigns gave him an opportunity to tour around the creeks of the State.
His words:
“I have no regrets. I am happy I ran for this election because it afforded me the opportunity to go round all the creeks, hamlets, communities to see the suffering of our people and the endemic poverty ravaging them.
It allowed me to further appreciate the beauty, untapped potential and wealth of my state. It gave me many ideas of what should be done to elevate Bayelsa and emancipate our people from the shackles of poverty.
“I thank the people of Bayelsa for their support and commend those, who defied the intimidation and rejected inducements to vote for me.
They are the real heroes of this election and their votes are the authentic and valid vote cast.
“I wonder why INEC cannot enforce its rules to ensure credible elections in the country.
There was intimidation and harassment of voters, violence, bypass of BVAS among other irregularities, which have vitiated whatever results they announced at the collation centre.
“I call on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe all electoral officers that participated in the election.
Most of them are the reasons for the rampart voter inducement in our country’s election.
The commission should investigate the massive monetary inducements that occurred in the Bayelsa election,”
