By Sampson Boroh
The leading governorship aspirant for the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the concluded party’s primary and former Minister of (State) for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has given reasons why he would not accept the emergence of Mr David Lyon as the flagbearer of the party in the next governorship election in the state.
While Lokpobiri was rejecting the result of APC primary, some of elders of the APC drawn from the eight LGAs of the state, have also rejected the outcome of the primaries, saying that the exercise was marred by irregularities.
The former minister who came third in the election said he and his supporters never participated in the election that produced David Lyon who beat five other aspirants to emerged the governorship candidate in the November election.
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Lokpobiri said there was no way he could lost an election Lyon when majority of APC members in the state were strongly rooting him.
He said party members gathered at the secretariat in Yenagoa and waited in vain for the arrival of the committee saddled with the conduct of the primaries.
Lokpobiri expressed optimism that the national leadership of the would look into the development in Bayelsa and ensure a credible process that would throw up a popular candidate for the party to enable it defeat the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
Meanwhile, elders of the party in the state have rejected outcome of the governorship primary, saying the processes were flawed and a mockery of the internal democracy of the APC.
Speaking on behalf of the elders, a former Security Adviser to Bayelsa State Government, and a chieftain of the APC from Sagbama, Chief Perekeme Kpodoh, faulted the emergence of David Lyon, adding that the process were characterised by deceit, fraud and disrespect to the six other aspirants.
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According to him, “While APC chieftains and delegates were still on their way to Yenagoa with authentic result of governorship primaries, one senator, who claimed to have the mandate of the Yobe Governor, was stampeded into announcing a fraudulent score as result of the primaries.”
Kpodoh said though he had earlier warned the national leadership of a clandestine plot to impose a candidate on APC members in Bayelsa through fraudulent and violent means.
He added that the emergence of Lyon is grand conspiracy to deny APC the opportunity to take over the state on November 16, 2019.
