by 
THE Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday presented Certificates of Return to the
winner of last Saturday governorship election in Bayelsa State, David Lyon and
his running mate, Senator Degi Eremienyon.
Lyon, who represented the All Progressives
Congress (APC) in the election defeated Douye Diri of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) to become the state sixth democratically elected governor since its
creation in 1996. Also presented with the certificate of return at the event
held at the INEC headquarters in Yenagoa, the state capital, was the winner of
the supplementary election for Brass State Constituency 1 of the Bayelsa State
House of Assembly, Mr. Charles Daniel. The INEC State headquarters located
along Swali Road was turned into a carnival by jubilant supporters of the APC,
who drummed and danced while the ceremony lasted. In her remarks before the
presentation of the certificate of return to the governor-elect and his deputy,
the INEC National Commissioner in charge of Bayelsa, Rivers and Edo States,
Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu, said the presentation was in fulfillment of Section 75
(1a) the Electoral Act as amended which mandates the Commission to present
certificates of return to winners of election within seven days.
She said the ceremony marked the end of a process that
started in May. Also in his remarks, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC,
in Bayelsa State, Pastor Monday Tom, who presented the certificate of return to
the House of Assembly member-elect, said he was grateful to God that under his
watch, Bayelsa State was able to conduct one of the most peaceful and
violence-free election in the history of the state. The governor-elect
commended Bayelsans for coming out en masse to vote him as governor and
promised not to disappoint the confidence reposed on him by the people. While
appealing to people of Bayelsa to come together to move the state forward, Lyon
said all the contestants in the election are winners. “There were no losers in
the election,” the governor-elect stated.
Source: Vanguard
