President Muhammadu Buhari has
congratulated Bayelsa state governor-elect David Lyon of the All Progressives
Congress (APC).
Lyon shocked his PDP challenger
Senator Douye Diri, by winning the governorship election on Saturday by a large
margin, in a state hitherto a stronghold of the PDP, since 1999.
His victory was announced by the
returning officer, Prof. Faraday Orumwense, Vice-chancellor, University of
Benin, at the INEC Collation Centre in Yenagoa on Sunday night.
Lyon won in six out of eight
local government areas and scored 352,552 votes while the PDP candidate polled
143,172, more than half of the votes coming from Sagbama LGA, home base of
Diri’s sponsor, Governor Seriake Dickson.
Buhari in a statement on Sunday
night commended Lyon for the impressive victory, the first time the APC would
win a governorship post east of the Nigeria since its formation in 2014.
President Buhari also commended
APC supporters in particular and Nigerians in general in the State who
exercised their civic rights in a peaceful manner, notwithstanding the pockets
of unrest recorded in some locations.
Condemning the loss of lives in
Bayelsa, particularly prior to the election, the President commiserated with
the families of the victims.
‘‘Violence during elections
vitiates our commitment to demonstrate to the world and upcoming generation
that we are a people capable of electing leaders in a peaceful and orderly
manner.’’
He noted that while officials of
the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies did
their best within the ambit of the law to ensure free, fair and credible
elections, it was unfortunate that pockets of unrest, mostly sponsored by
desperate politicians, were recorded during the poll.
The President looked forward to
working with the incoming government to improve the lives of the people in
Bayelsa State, while ensuring the security of lives and property of all
citizens.
President Buhari urged
Governor-elect Lyon to carry other divergent interests along in the next phase
of governance, imploring those not satisfied with the outcome of the poll to
seek redress through the constitutionally established channels.
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