APC Abandoned Sylva In Bayelsa Guber – Stakeholders

Some All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders led by Dr. Otiti Etionumeya have alleged that the national leadership of the party abandoned Timipre Sylva during the gubernatorial elections.

Sylva, who was the APC candidate in the November 11 election, lost to the incumbent.

In a petition addressed to APC’s National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, about 38 Bayelsa APC stakeholders questioned the party’s support for Sylva in the poll.

Addressing the press, Etionumeya expressed shock and disappointment at the party’s alleged disposition.

He cited the party’s alleged silence regarding the cancellation of results in several areas and INEC’s alleged deviation from electoral laws.

“We state unequivocally our utter shock, disgust, and disappointment at the audacious compromise and subversion of the will of the people of Bayelsa State by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in its bold-faced cancellation of a whooping 84,806 votes scored by our great party, the APC in the above-mentioned election.

“We find it strange and curious that our party’s candidate was left in the lurch by the party at the national level at a time he needed the support of the party the most, and are therefore inclined to believe that the Bayelsa State chapter of the APC has once again been used as a sacrificial lamb to satisfy some vested interests without any consideration for the party’s teeming members and supporters who have worked assiduously and at great cost for our party’s victory.

“If the Bayelsa State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) wasn’t sacrificed to please some vested interests, how do we explain the audacious cancellation of results in areas such as Ogbia, Nembe, Brass, and Southern Ijaw L.G.

“As where our great party had a clear lead until the unfathomable happened, with the INEC jettisoning the respective collation centres where the results ought to have been declared and moved the collation of results to the state collation centre in Yenagoa, the state capital, where results already declared at polling units with our party in clear lead were cancelled in flagrant contravention of Section 51 of the Electoral Act, 2022,” Etionumeya stated.