Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

Ex-president, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has congratulated Gov Duoye Diri of Bayelsa state after he emerged winner of the November 11 governorship election.

Congratulating Diri in a statement made available on his official X handle, Jonathan, who once served as the Governor of Bayelsa state, urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) to work towards the improvement of the country’s electoral system.

In his congratulatory message, Jonathan held that Governor Diri’s victory was well deserved, adding that his victory demonstrated the people’s faith in his leadership.

“Congratulations to His Excellency @govdouyediri on his re-election as the Governor of Bayelsa State. Your victory at the poll is well-deserved, as it demonstrates the people’s faith in your leadership and reward for years of commitment to peace, prosperity, and progress of Bayelsa,” statement by the former president partly read.

“Your success confers on you more responsibilities, as the people have, through the ballot, entrusted you with hope and expectation for a better and prosperous future. I urge you to reciprocate this confidence reposed on you by the people through this mandate and work for the general good and progress of all Bayelsans, irrespective of political affiliation, senatorial district, clan or community,” it added.

Calling on the election umpire to take serious issues from the off-cycle election and work towards improving the country’s electoral process, Jonathan said;

“Finally, I call on the electoral umpire and other stakeholders to take seriously the issues of the off-cycle elections and work towards the improvement of the electoral system and sustainability of our nation’s democracy.”

Diri was declared winner of the kneely contested election. Unlike in Kogi and Imo where the winners won with a landslide margin, the margin between Diri and his main contender All Progressives Congress’ Timipre Sylva was slim as Diri polled a total of  175,196 votes to defeat Sylva who scored 110,108 votes.