- Uzodinma Battles Anyanwu, Achonu In Imo
- As Diri Seeks Re-Election Against Sylva, Eradiri In Bayelsa
- Ododo, Melaye And Ajaka Battle For The Soul Of Kogi
The wait is over! Today, residents of Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States will throng the polling booths in the three states to elect a new governor.
While the duo of Duoye Diri (Bayelsa) AND Hope Uzodinma (Imo) will be seeking re-election, it will be a race to determine who succeeds Yahaya Bello in Kogi state as the trio of Dino Melaye, Usman Ododo and Murtala Ajaka in Kogi State.
Though the fear of violence is rife in the three states, all the political actors and stakeholders have expressed their readiness for the polls.
The gubernatorial elections would be very competitive in the three states, as no one could predict the winners for now.
In Bayelsa State, the top three gladiators are the incumbent Governor Douye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former governor and the immediate Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Udengmobofa Eradiri of the Labour Party (LP).
In Imo State, the incumbent, Hope Uzodinma of the APC, Athan Nneji Aconu, LP, and Samuel Anyanwu, a former National Secretary of the PDP.
Amongst the candidates jostling to succeed Bello are Murtala Yakubu Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Dino Melaye of the PDP, Ododo Usman Ahmed, APC, and Leke Abejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The electoral umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has also promised to play fair with all the candidates.
The Chairman of the electoral commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu in a late statement on Thursday pledged to ensure a level playing field for all political parties and candidates in the elections.
He also promised the readiness of the staff of the commission, saying, “We are determined to ensure that our officials are there waiting for voters rather than the voters waiting for our arrival”.
As we approach Election Day, I wish to call on our officials (both regular and ad-hoc) to demonstrate the highest level of patriotism and professionalism. As I said repeatedly, not least during my recent readiness assessment visits to the three States, INEC is not a political party and we have no candidate in the election. Our responsibility is to safeguard the process and ensure a level playing field for all political parties and candidates. The choice of who becomes the Governor of Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States is entirely in the hands of voter” he said.
As the fear of violence looms large, the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, has warned against violence and irregularities ahead of the election in the three states.
Ribadu warned that a monitoring system has been established with monitors deployed to the field to collect any evidence of violence and irregularities.
The NSA equally warned against violence by political actors and charged security agencies to adhere to a professional code of ethics during the conduct of the exercise.
In a statement by the Head of Strategic Communication in the Office of the NSA, Zakari U. Mijinyawa, Ribadu assured that in line with the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, security agencies have made adequate preparations to ensure safe, secure and transparent elections on Saturday, 11 November 2023.
The NSA, who is the Co-Chair of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, charged all security, intelligence and law enforcement officers deployed on election security duties to conduct themselves creditably.
Ribadu further stated that the Federal Government has mobilized all the required resources for the smooth conduct of the elections and called on all election managers to adhere strictly to the instructions given by the President.
The NSA vowed that there would be severe consequences for anyone who is found to have disrupted the conduct of elections or abused his authority.
He admonished voters in the three states to come out en masse to exercise their franchise and assured them of adequate protection.
It is hoped that at the end of the exercise, voter turnout, and the entire conduct of the polls will be up to the global best standard.
