Bayelsa Guber fallout : Group accuses Sylva of recruiting IT experts to manipulate BVAS

A group, Niger Delta Democratic Watch (NDDW) has raised an alarm over the alleged plot by the defeated candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the recently conducted Governorship election in Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva in the recruitment of Information Technology (IT) experts to compromise already declared election results.

According to the group, Sylva and his recruited experts are working to give credence and backing to the “cooked figures” he allocated to himself in some polling units where INEC either rejected or cancelled the compromised votes for various reasons including bypass of BVAS, massive thumbprinting and outright manipulation of the electoral process.

The group, Niger Delta Democratic Watch (NDDW), in a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by Comrade Joseph Dennis,stated that preliminary investigation showed that the suspected IT experts have been assembled somewhere in Lagos State to fraudulently re-configure the voters accreditation on the BVAS to align with the polling units results uploaded on the INEC portal.

The group further revealed that Sylva and his agents are working to manipulate the election figures in favour of APC and presents their concocted figures before the Tribunal, where he has gone to argue that he won the election and so, he be declared the winner.

“This is really laughable. A man so unpopular with Bayelsans wants to grab the governorship seat through the back door. Why does everything around Sylva has to be on deceit and fraud.”

“This is a man who attempted to manipulate the votes in several polling units safe for the eagle eyes of the INEC polling officers, agents of the PDP and agents of other political parties. Sadly, Sylva, escaped with the “stolen votes” in his village Okpoama, Ewoama and Nembe-Bassambiri but his APC agents were caught red handed rigging in different polling units and wards in Southern Ijaw LGA and other Local Government Areas”

“INEC clearly did not accept polling units results not backed by BVAS in line with extant electoral laws particularly the amended 2022 Electoral Act. Sylva’s latest move to manipulate BVAS is laughable”, our source stated.

“Some of the polling units where results were not accepted or cancelled by INEC due to identified electoral malpractices, however, found their way to the Irev portal in controversial circumstances and under duress. Regrettably, some of the Presiding Officers were held at gun points to upload some of the manipulated units results”.

“It is an established fact that, as election observers, the INEC did a thorough job to give Bayelsans a credible election and that they have since reviewed the conduct of the election. We have it on good authority that INEC stands firmly on the declaration of Senator Douye Diri, as the re-elected Governor of Bayelsa State.”

“It is INEC that conducts election and the supervisory INEC National Commissioner ensured that only valid votes were counted in the November 11 Gubernatorial Election in Bayelsa State.”

“The INEC was also bold to have cancelled some votes across polling units affecting different political parties. There are a lot of places where some persons bypassed the BVAS only to generate their own figures which were disowned by our officers. INEC outrightly rejected such votes. Proper accreditation through BVAS remains the soul of the election. We must appreciate INEC for the introduction of BVAS for accreditation. This is novel”, the group stated.