Ahead of Saturday’s rerun election in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Governor Seriake Dickson on Monday accused one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Minister of “terrorising” people of the state.
Addressing a press conference in Yenagoa, the state capital, Dickson affirmed that contrary to reports he is a peaceful man.
Dickson who called on the people of the state to defend their vote, claimed that there were plans to rig the Saturday’s election in favour of Sylva.
He said, “I’m the proponent of political tolerance in this state
“I don’t need anybody to kill and maim for me, I’m a man of peace and everybody knows. What we have seen is a subversion of our national security agencies.”
Dickson, who did not mention the name of the Minister, said, “The minister sent thugs to attack the collation centre, put off the community generator, storm the collation centre, took away the original ward result sheets, and also prevented the collation officers from completing their collations.
“In my own community, we had APC people who wanted to open an office, I told the commissioner of police to protect them, they must hang that flag – it’s their right. Nobody was assaulted.
“Unlike Ekeremor, where a man who is not even candidate looks down on his community so much, thinks they’re his slaves and says ‘you will not vote’. Not even for his party, ‘you will not vote at all’.
The Governor also accused Sylva of using his influence to change the head of security agencies in the state in order to perfect his plot.
“I got copied a letter written by the CDC chairman of Ekeremor community, the minister’s community, where it is directed to the president. Drawing the president’s attention to what the minister is doing, terrorising the community with soldiers and police and SSS and so on. So that nobody would go there to vote.
“Himself, his younger ones are all carrying arms. As the CSO, I’m alive to my responsibilities in this state.
“This idea of changing people anytime they don’t do the wishes of a person or party – you’re destroying institutions. This is the third time they have changed the commissioner of police in Bayelsa, since this race started.
“They brought in Paul Okafor, brought in Nasir Oki, nominated by Timipre Sylva, now I hear Timipre Sylva says the man they brought here as commissioner of police didn’t do his bidding by killing enough people, didn’t do his bidding by arresting innocent party supporters and those who are not supporting him.
“I hear that by today or tomorrow, the new commissioner of police, nominated by him and his party would arrive here. They are celebrating victory of evil over good, victory of criminality over legality.”
Dickson boasted that “all the votes from Southern Ijaw are for me.”
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