Ijaw elders, others congratulate PDP, APC over successful primaries

The Ijaw Elders Forum (IEF) and other collaborating bodies on Monday congratulated the leaderships of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the peaceful conduct of their primaries in Bayelsa state.

They said that they were happy with the parties because the primaries were held without any reported cases of violence and bloodshed on September 3and September 4respectively, in Yenagoa.

The congratulatory message is contained in a press statement signed by the Secretary General of the IEF, Efiye Bribena, and on behalf of other collaborating bodies.

The statement added that it is a big plus for the two parties, their aspirants and the good people of Bayelsa state that no bloodshed was recorded during the exercise.

The statement added that “it is expected that this will be sustained before, during and beyond the forthcoming governorship election. God bless the aspirants who emerged from the primaries and the people of Bayelsa state.’’

They also congratulated the successful aspirants that emerged as the governorship candidates of the PDP, Senator Douye Diri and Lyon David (APC) during the primaries.

“We expect that they will learn from this process and conduct their campaigns in a peaceful and God-fearing manner. As the primaries extended to the night then, a feeling of foreboding enveloped most discerning minds.

“This feeling evaporated at the dawn of the day as winners emerged without any reported case of violence or blood-letting. This is no-mean achievement for the state and it is worthy of emulation nationwide. We thank God for this,” Efiye said.

The groups also expressed gratitude to the local and international observer groups for the laudable roles they played during the primaries.

“It is important to thank the members of this coalition, stakeholders and collaborators as well as members of the international community who supported the push for peaceful and credible elections in Bayelsa.

“While we note that there were some complaints about irregularities in the processes leading to the primaries, we are happy that peace was maintained throughout.

We strongly advise all aggrieved parties to seek redress using peaceful and legal channels available to address their complaints. The time to free our future is now. God bless Bayelsa,’’ Efiye said. (NAN)