Thugs disrupt NDC primary election in Bayelsa

From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa

There was pandemonium on Friday in Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State as suspected political thugs disrupted the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Sagbama Constituency 2 primary election.

According to investigations, the Sagbama Pavilion centre in Mile 1, which had witnessed a peaceful affirmation of votes for the NDC presidential candidate, Peter Obi, Bayelsa West Senatorial District candidate, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, and Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency candidate, Selekebina Saboh, was turned into a theatre of war midway through the counting of votes for the Sagbama Constituency primary election.

The Electoral Officer, Abraham Abiji, and the Returning Officer, Matthew Godday, had explained to the delegates that the mode of election would be direct primaries between a former commissioner and two-time Sagbama Council chairman, Hon. Michael Magbisa, and a grassroots politician, Felix Wilson.

Initially, Magbisa protested that Wilson could not contest the election because he was not a card-carrying member of the party. Wilson, however, refuted the claims by producing evidence of his registration card and identification number.

Tension heightened when party members were asked to queue behind their preferred candidate, and the Returning Officer, Mr Godday, who had moved to coordinate the queue, was attacked and whisked away by armed youths.

In the ensuing commotion, members of the national electoral panel vowed to continue the process and began counting the votes.

They had reached 885 votes for Wilson and were still counting when suspected thugs, realising that Wilson was on the verge of victory, started attacking delegates with machetes and other dangerous weapons.

The situation came to an abrupt end as delegates and members of the election committee were forced to flee the venue.