National Wire About Nigerians, Nigerian Business and Other Stories
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
Mr. Jones Okiah has been declared winner of the Masses Movement of Nigeria, MMN, guber primary conducted Saturday in Yenagoa for the 2019 Bayelsa gubernatorial election.
Announcing the result, the chairman of the party`s primary election committee, Barr. Adolphus Yagba, declared Okiah winner, scoring 31 votes out of a total 39 votes cast just as 8 votes were declared void in an unopposed contest.
Speaking on the mode of election, the party`s national secretary and Chief Returning Officer for the primary, Alhaji Isa Dansaraki said the party adopted direct primaries, emphasizing that close interactions with executive of the party in the state had earlier informed him that due to logistic which had made most members unable to return from the primaries has occasioned low turnout for the exercise. Dansaraki argued that the party is the one to beat in the forth coming governorship polls.
Reacting to his victory, the guber candidate commended party members for returning for the primaries, saying upon communicating the date of the primaries to party faithful they indicate interest by returning to exercise their political power through a true, fair and credible primaries.
Meanwhile, as Bayelsans await the outcome of party primaries and blueprint of candidates, the MMN guber hopeful has promised to reinstate all former civil servants sacked by Governor Dickson`s administration.
Okiah asserted that there is no better way to make the civil service employment more meaningful than giving workers their required promotion and regular remuneration as well as gratuities and pension when retired, harping that rather than sack workers he would create more employment opportunities for Bayelsans.
The MMN candidate lambasted successive administration for plundering the resources of the State, saying the era of looting in government will soon be over as an MMN Government is in the making.
Reiterating this commitment towards an even transformation of the State, Okiah promised to construct roads to link all the hinter lands communities of the State if he emerges winner in the forth coming guber race to fast track development.
It will be would recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has given 5th September, as the last day for submission of names of party governorship candidates for the Bayelsa and Kogi States November 16th Governorship Election while conduct of party primaries were to end on or before 4th September 2019.
