Today, Saturday 11th November, the people of Bayelsa State will go to the polls to elect a governor in what promises to be a very competitive election.

It, alongside that of Imo and Kogi that will be held on the same day, is going to be the first off-cycle polls to be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after the 2023 general election.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is hoping to maintain control of the oil-rich state, while the All Progressives Congress (APC) is aiming to win again after the Supreme Court judgment that handed over power to Governor Duoye Diri in 2020.

The then APC candidate David Lyon won the November 2019 governorship election but the Supreme Court nullified his victory because his running mate, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, presented false information to INEC in aid of his qualification for the polls.

Voters Details

APC Candidate: SYLVA

Sylva is the immediate past Minister of State for Petroleum. He was also a former governor of the state. He governed the state under the PDP.

Among others, Sylva will be counting on his accomplishments when he led the state and the clout of his party, the APC, at the national level.

PDP Candidate: DUOYE DIRI

Diri, a former senator, House of Representatives member, and Commissioner for Youth and Sports in the state, became governor following a court judgment that disqualified the winner of the 2019 governorship election in the state, David Lyon.

The 2019 election in Bayelsa was between Diri of the PDP and Lyon of the APC.

Lyon won with 352,552 votes, defeating Diri of the PDP with 143,172 votes.

However, a day before his swearing-in, the Supreme Court sacked him as governor-elect because his deputy, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, had issues with the certificate he submitted to INEC.

Diri enjoys the support of the PDP members in the state, having won the party’s ticket through consensus in April 2023. He got 305 votes in the primary election. A total of 315 delegates were accredited to vote in the poll.

In September, a significant endorsement reverberated through the corridors of Bayelsa’s political environment when the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Bayelsa chapter, threw its weight behind Diri’s reelection bid. The backing implies that most Christian leaders across the state will be exhorting their congregants to rally behind Diri when they cast their votes on November 11.

In a state where Christianity is considered the dominant religion, the endorsement could smooth over the governor’s reelection bid.

Diri’s potential performance was captured in a poll conducted by CellHub, a data mining group, and its consortium of data analysts and development experts.

The survey, which included 2,100 respondents from all 105 wards of the state, indicated strong support for Diri’s reelection, with 48 percent favouring his second term bid. However, 34 percent of respondents remained undecided, while 18 percent expressed support for Timipre Sylva, the APC candidate.

Diri’s effective management of the COVID-19 pandemic, infrastructural accomplishments, calm demeanour, and easy-going nature as factors that have endeared him to the majority of voters.

The survey said that 34% of undecided voters could play a pivotal role in shaping the election outcome, as their support may swing in favour of the candidate who can effectively mobilise their voting strength.

The high percentage of multidimensionally poor people in Bayelsa, as reported by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS), even though the state receives 13 percent oil derivation, could affect the governor’s reelection.

The data reveals that a large portion of the state’s population is living in multidimensional poverty, indicating that Diri’s government has not been able to address the economic and social challenges faced by the people. If effectively “weaponised” by the opposition, this could hurt the governor’s chances at the polls.

Indeed, this forms the core of Eradiri’s campaign message. The LP candidate regularly expresses his bewilderment at the reported pervasive poverty in Bayelsa, considering the state’s relatively small population and the substantial revenue allocations received from diverse sources.

LP Candidate: ENGR Udengs Eradiri

Born in 1976, Eradiri’s foray into the murky waters of politics began in 2011 when he unsuccessfully contested for the Kolokuma/Okpokuma Yenagoa federal constituency seat under LP.

Since then, he has served in various other political capacities. Between 2018 and 2019, he was commissioner for youth development and from 2019 to 2020, he was commissioner for environment.

It is posited that the youth’s support for him may swing the pendulum in his favour.

An engineer, he is a former president of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) worldwide, commissioner, and special adviser on youth matters in the NDDC.

He will also be capitalising on the popularity of Peter Obi, the LP’s presidential candidate in the February 25 presidential election, to cause an upset.

While political analysts opine that the Bayelsa governorship election is a two-horse contest, the performance of the LP in the 2023 elections underscores why the party should not be underestimated.

In 2021, he assumed the role of special assistant on youths and sports to the interim administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). He continued in this capacity to then-acting managing director of NDDC from 2022 until January 2023 when the board was eventually constituted.

Backers of the LP candidate, who is a former president of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), believe that he may secure victory by leveraging the goodwill the party currently enjoys among sections of the electorate — especially the youth.

Eradiri has never won an elective seat in the state or national elections. He will struggle to compete with Diri and Sylva who have well-established political networks across the state and country.

Lol. Nothing is gonna change..we already know that gov. Douye Diri of the people's democratic party is going to win

Following.

Don't disturb us with your fake results today. We will wait for INEC official results

Where are the "APC don rig am crew?

Diri narrowly wins this.

Seen

Another opportunity for the electorate to decide who govern their state for the next 4 years.
A Peaceful poll is all we yearn for.
No killing, fighting or destruction in anyway whatsoever.
The people's vote must count!

Stay safe

It's Well..
We will always do our very best..

BluntCrazeMan:
Dear Nairalanders.

Let us give the IREV one more trial.
Let's do this again one more time.

https://inecelectionresults.ng/elections/types/5f129a04df41d910dcdc1d51?type=gov

I wasn't really expecting INEC to deploy the IREV again, after their own lawyers went to the court to testify that the IREV is irrelevant.

Nevertheless, even though we don't trust the IREV and the INEC themselves any longer.,, let's still hold them by their words again...
But this time, don't expect them to keep their words.

VOTERS.!!
PLEASE FOLLOW YOUR VOTES FROM THE POLLING-UNITS TO THE WARDS, TO THE LGAS, AND TO THE FINAL STATE COLLATION CENTERS..

IF THEY PREVENT YOU FROM GOING INSIDE, NO PROBLEMS..
STAY CLOSE ENOUGH IN YOUR LARGE NUMBERS, AND KEEP THE ACCREDITED AGENTS INSIDE, THEN, KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN AT ALL TIMES.

ONCE YOU SEE ANY MANIPULATIONS GOING ON,, USE YOUR LIVE VIDEOS ON THEM IMMEDIATELY..
AND LEAVE THE REST.

PARTY AGENTS.!!!
PLEASE STOP STAGING WALK-OUTS, AND STOP LEAVING THE COLLATION CENTERS..
(IT DIRECTLY EQUATES TO THE IPOB’S CRAZY STRATEGY OF BOYCOTTING ELECTIONS..)

SO STOP IT..!!
IT'S BETTER FOR YOU TO STAY THERE AND VIDEO EVERYTHING THAT IS HAPPENING THERE FOR SAKE OF EVIDENCE..

AND EVEN, YOU HAVE TO SIGN ALL THOSE SO-CALLED MANIPULATED RESULTS, AND WRITE “OBJECTION” NEAR YOUR NAME, AFTER SIGNING YOUR PORTION..



We must get it right only if we try to do the actual right things,, and not by trying to out-do them or out-smart them in their game of foolery and evil.



As for the ONLINE MONITORING COMMUNITY,, we only have the IREV...,, at-least for now.

Make Eye Neck no try nonsense today oo. Let the people make their choice

If only David Lyon was on ballot.

As for Bayelsa, it's of no interest to me.
Let the best candidate win

Following...

muykem:
Don't disturb us with your fake results today. We will wait for INEC official results

Form EC8A can be snapped and posted online

Audio election, coward Mahmood yakubu and his fraudulent president who already knows who they will put there, until Nigeria decides not to be honouring this sham activity called elections, they will keep on fooling us, how can someone stand all the day inside sun and rain to vote and d vote won't can't, shame on this country.

Men mount oh men mount

AsomStructures:
Lol. Nothing is gonna change..we already know that gov. Douye Diri of the people's democratic party is going to win

You spoke my mind Gov. Diri will convincely wins second term in office.

Following

APC mount everywhere, i'm seeing a win for them

Let bayelsian make sure d return their gov let slyvia go home n sit down bayelsa is pdp not for greedy politician like slyvia

What's happening in Bayelsa

DIRI WINS POLLING UNIT OF LP'S ERADIRI

PU 05, Ward 10, Yenagoa LG, Bayelsa state.
LP: 08
APC: 45
PDP: 130

#BayelsaDecides2023

manutdrichie:
APC mount everywhere, i'm seeing a win for them

Where?

Diri is beating APC black and blue here