Senator Heineken Lokpobiri has represented the Bayelsa West senatorial district since 2007 and is presently the chairman of the Senate committee on Water Resources. In his first term between 2007 and 2011 he was the chairman of the Senate Committee on Sports. He is presently engaged in a battle to renew his ticket as the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP nominee for the constituency.
The result of the Senate primaries mainly between him and Fister Ogola was in some sections of the press reported as inconclusive, but Senator Lokpobiri is insisting he won the primaries. In an interaction with newsmen in Abuja he gave his reasons saying that his rivals did not comply with Article 28 (b) of the PDP, which stipulates that “accreditation of delegates should take place from 8am to 12noon, he met some unknown officials collating the results..
By Folu Adegoke
WHAT happened:
It’s imperative for me to put things in perspective and that is why I decided to address this press conference. It is also important to put it on record that Sunday’s senatorial primary did hold and it was my good self who won the primary.
The video clips are even there for the world to see. By the party guidelines, accreditation starts by 8:00am and is expected to end by 12:00pm. I got to Sagbama town, which was the venue of the Bayelsa West senatorial primary by 10:45am and I was confronted with the roads being barricaded with security vehicles…
I got to the venue with my supporters at about 11:00am and I saw somebody who purportedly was counting the results of the primary! I quickly asked him, ‘what are you doing? The primary is supposed to end by 12:00pm!’ I told them that we still had one hour to the end of the accreditation and I was there to present myself for the exercise. I was there in company with some statutory delegates including former acting governor, Hon. Nestor Binibo, Deputy Chief Whip of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Empere Ebamua.
After I insisted that the accreditation was supposed to be on-going at that time, there was pandemonium, the governor left and others , including the person purportedly collating the results, scampered out of the venue!
Thereafter, the authentic delegates converged in another venue, in an assembly hall of the secondary school in Sagbama, the accreditation was then done, it ended by 12:00pm and then, voting took place and I was duly declared with 93 votes by the returning officer, Peter Bufumoh. My opponent got maybe one or two votes. That was what happened. I just want Nigerians to know what actually happened.
Reaction to reports of his loss
The report in the papers today was embarrassing, to state that Lokpobiri lost the bid to return to the Senate. I want to make it clear that I was duly elected to fly the flag of the party in the February 14, 2015 poll.”
Lokpobiri maintained that he is the authentic candidate that was elected in line with party guidelines.
