Oil Magnate, David Lyon Wins Bayelsa APC Primary

Lyon emerged the winner of the direct primaries conducted by the party on Wednesday as announced by the Collation Officer Senator Emmanuel Ocheja.

The oil magnate, Chief Lyon polled a total of 42,138, votes to defeat five other aspirants, while Mrs Desiye Nsirim, came a distant second with 1,533, with Chief Ebitimi Amgbare came third with 633 votes.

The immediate past Minister of state for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, polled 571 votes to come fourth while Prof Ongoebi Etebu and Prince Preye Aganaba got 564 and 354 votes respectively.

Senator Ocheja, who was flanked by the other national and state officers of the party, said he was standing in for the Returning Officer and Governor of Yobe State, Ibrahim Gaidam, whom he disclosed was unavoidable absent.

He revealed that six aspirants contested the election, adding that the mode of the primaries was ‘Direct Primaries’ ‘Option A-4, ‘ adopted by the state stakeholders and leaders of the party in the state and the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the party.