The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, issued a Certificate of Return to the House of Assembly member-elect in Bayelsa State on Thursday.
Obo Effanga, Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, presented the certificate to the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Amakoromo Waikumo, winner of the Yenagoa Constituency 2 re-run election, at the Mahmood Yakubu media centre, Yenagoa.
The electoral body conducted the rerun in the seven polling units of Gbarain 1 and 2, and Ekpetiama 1 and 2, where elections were cancelled due to electoral malpractices.
Waikumo polled 5,959 votes to beat his closest rival, Ebiuwou Koku-Obiyai of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who scored 5,263 votes.
DAILY POST recalls that the Yenagoa Constituency 2 election conducted on November 11, 2023, was declared in favour of the APGA candidate, Warikumo Amakoro. Still, PDP candidate Eboiwou Koku Obiyal challenged the result, and the court consequently ordered a re-run election on February 3, 2024.
Presenting the certificate of return to the winner, the state REC, Obo Effanga, said: ” I understand that the election was conducted in March last year during the general election, and a winner was declared by INEC. One of the participants in that election went to the tribunal and eventually to the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal directed that a re-run election be conducted in seven polling units to determine who actually won, and that is exactly what we did. We were able to determine the winner. The national headquarters of INEC has sent the certificate of return, which is to be presented to the winner.”