The PDP flag bearer in the February 2012 governorship election in Bayelsa State, Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson has faulted the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in excluding his name from the list of candidates in the state.
He stated this in Abuja yesterday during an exclusive interview with LEADERSHIP WEEKEND.
“What INEC has done is illegal, unacceptable and condemnable. By the laws of the country embedded in the Electoral Acts, INEC has no power to either reject or disqualify a name forwarded to it by a political party. The duty of INEC is to work with any name duly forwarded to it by a party. What the law expects from INEC is to act as an unbiased umpire.”
Dickson also alleged that the decision by INEC to exclude his name is a plot by Governor Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State so as to derail his campaign train.
“INEC had my name on their website as the flag bearer of PDP along side with the names of other candidates from other parties in the state. There is no court order or injunction asking the INEC to remove or suspend my name as the flag bearer of PDP. INEC ought to have consulted with stakeholders rather than taking sides with Sylva. INEC is aiding and abetting Sylva to destroy PDP,” Dickson stated.