The Restoration Campaign Organisation of Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Timipre Sylva, will lose at the governorship election petition tribunal if he decides to contest the outcome of the election.
Dickson secured a second term in office on Sunday after the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared him winner of the December 5 election and January 9 supplementary election in Southern Ijaw and 101 other polling units across the state.
In a statement yesterday, Director of Publicity of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign organisation, Jonathan Obuebite, reckoned that the election was won and lost going by what he regarded as “overwhelming support and voting trend in favour of PDP” by the electorate in the state.
The APC candidate – former Governor Sylva – who came second, however, vowed to challenge the result of the election claiming among others that the PDP and INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state connived to deny him victory.
Insisting that Dickson won with valid votes cast, Obuebite said the popularity of the PDP and track record of the governor were reasons Bayelsans chose him over Sylva.
He noted that the result showed that Bayelsa State was a stronghold of the PDP, adding that APC would always find it difficult to win election in the state.
Obuebite, therefore, advised the APC to join hands with Dickson to develop the state instead of going to court over what he described as an “effort in futility”.
According to him, despite what his supporters might say, Sylva did not “seemingly feel really bad” about the outcome of the election, claiming that the APC flag bearer went out with friends immediately after the results were declared.
This, he said, did not suggest Sylva was “terribly affected”, adding that his action suggested instead that he was not expecting to win.
