Bayelsa poll: Any vote for APC is wasted, says PDP’s Diri

The governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa state, Senator Douye Diri, on Thursday said he is no longer standing election with the APC in Saturday’s poll, saying “any vote for the APC is wasted vote.”

He said his decision was based on the judgement of the Federal High Court in Yenagoa which barred the All Progressives Congress (APC) from fielding candidate for the Saturday’s governorship election in the state.

Diri, while speaking with newsmen in Yenagoa, said that though 44 other political parties will square up with the PDP on Saturday, but he has the structures on ground to emerge victorious.

The PDP governorship hopeful said: “We filed a case against the deputy governorship candidate of APC, who has been disqualified by the court. That means, according to the joint candidate, APC has no candidate; not only that, just today, this was the case between APC and APC, arising from its primary.

“Senator Heineken Lokpobiri has taken their so-called flag-bearer to court, the matter has been on, and today it has been decided that the APC primary was not in accordance with the party’s guidelines; this now goes on to cement the earlier court ruling.

“We have also heard from the INEC that they cannot undo the ballot paper they have printed, but any vote for APC is an invalid vote, which means that it’s a wasted vote. On November 16, APC is not one of those contesting with the PDP.

“There were 45 parties, but APC is out, therefore, I want to use this opportunity to call on all well-meaning Bayelsans that the PDP which has been their party from the inception of this democracy till today is the only party that has a credible platform, credible candidate, party that avoids violence, a party that even when they are killed, is still pushing for peace.

“But rather than apologizing to Bayelsans and Nigerians, the leader of the party, Timipre Sylva as usual, has been on air with propaganda and adding more salt to the injury.

“As a party that stands by the rule of law, we have refrain all our members from any reprisal attack; we are calling on all the security agencies that justice must be served on those who carried out that dastardly acts yesterday,” he said.