BayelsaDecides2023: Massive protest in front of INEC office
There is an ongoing massive protest at the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission over what has been termed concocted election results from Nembe Bassambiri.
Top Bayelsa State-based civil society operatives, women groups, youth groups, state and National Assembly members and other concerned citizens gathered at the INEC office to protest alleged move by the top leadership of the electoral agency to distort the votes in Saturday’s election.
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As early as 9am, the angry protesters blocked the busy Swali Road location of INEC to prevail of the commission from accepting the results from Nembe Bassambiri, which they said were concocted.
The Bayelsa State State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dambo Biriyai (SAN), told journalists during the protest that election did not take place in Nembe Bassambiri.
Biriyai called on the Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in the state, Obo Effanga, and the South South Commissioner for INEC, May Agbamuche-Mbu, to do what is right by rejecting the alleged fake results.
He stressed that members of the Peoples Democratic Party, who visited their country home of Bassambiri, were allegedly prevented entry by the combined team of SWAT police and thugs of the All Progressives Congress.
He stated furthering that the APC only wrote outrageous results that were not products of any voting.
Biriyai said: “If what we are here for is allowed to go on, it would be a massive rape on democracy.
“We are here because we were disenfranchised in Nembe Bassambiri.
“And no voting took place there.
“Precisely on the 10th of November, in order to vote for our candidate, about 60 buses left Yenagoa to Nembe Bassambiri with escort.
“When we got there, the SWAT team was blocking the entrance with other APC youths.
“They said we should come down.
“When one of our boys, Barrister Dilli, came down, they manhandled him and he escaped by the whiskers.
“Thereafter, they started blocking them up to the extent that they threw tear gas at us.
“They said we cannot come in.
“So most of us were scared so they had to leave.
“There were no votes.
“No election in Nembe Bassambiri Constituency 2 and 3.
“And we now found out that results starts coming it on social media.
“Results that were uploaded in the BVAS.
“And you see that these results are the kind of results that are so outrageous.
“We don’t know where they are coming from.
“So we are here to appeal to INEC.
“We are not coming to discourage INEC.
“We just want them to follow the rule of law, ensure that they do what is right in line with Mr. President’s resolve that there should be free and fair elections in this country.
“They manipulated everything.
“INEC should cancel Nembe Bassambiri results because there were no elections there.”