Austin Pade, Yenagoa
Ahead of Saturday’s election, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has, for the umpteenth time, urged security agencies and the INEC to be professional in their conduct to avoid infractions that characterized the just concluded presidential and National Assembly polls across the country.
Governor Dickson, who spoke at a meeting with all his political appointees, in Yenagoa, said he has no problem with the deployment of security operatives so far as they abide by the rules of their engagement.
The governor, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media Relations, Mr Fidelis Soriwei, however, reiterated his call on the people to remain steadfast in their resolve to resist intimidation and harassment while exercising their franchise.
According to the Governor, it is shameful that instead of canvassing for support from the electorate, the state leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have resorted to violence and begging security agencies to swing votes in their favour.
He decried the violence that rocked parts of the state which claimed three lives including a Government House photographer, Mr Reginald Dei, assuring that no stone will be left unturned to ensure that the perpetrators of the dastardly act are brought to book.
Governor Dickson urged political appointees to intensify their efforts at maintaining the dominance of the Peoples Democratic Party by winning all the 24 seats in the state House of Assembly.
He described what transpired in some parts of the state in the last presidential and national assembly elections as a charade, noting that INEC disregarded its guidelines to announce concocted results in favour of the APC.
The Governor, who noted that PDP won everywhere election actually took place in the state during the February 23rd polls, assured the party faithful that efforts are on top gear to recover their stolen mandate.
He urged the people of the state to pray and resist all forms of oppression being perpetrated against the state in the name of election.
His words, “There plan is to over run and forcefully takeover our dear state through terrorism and military occupation. And they have found willing tools in our criminal brothers who are in the APC.
” They are doing all of this under the pretext of election. It is shameful and our country’s democracy is under threat. But what they don’t know is that the whole world is now watching Nigeria dancing naked.
“I hear they want to deploy more military personnel to this state for election duty. I don’t have any problem with that. All we are saying is that security agencies should do their job professionally.
“They should not connive with the APC to disenfranchise and cheat us. All we are saying is that, INEC should not throw away their guidelines by announcing concocted results like they did in the last elections.
“We all know in this state, that our party, the PDP won fair and square in all the units, wards, constituencies and local government areas where elections actually took place. INEC also knows it.
“There is no APC in this state. They know our people are standing with the PDP. That is why they don’t bother to campaign because what they are counting on is what they have always used against us, federal might. But I’m sure our people will continue to resist them.
“My charge to you this afternoon, is for all of you to relocate to your various communities to mobilise our people to vote massively for the PDP so that we will win all the 24 seats in the state’s House of Assembly.
“Tell them to cooperate with every law enforcement agent that is doing his or her lawful duty during and after the election. But tell them that they have my support to resist any security personnel that has been deployed to do any rubbish to favour APC.”
On this note, the meeting ended with special prayers offer for the Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah who clocked 65 years.
Ahead of Saturday’s election, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has, for the umpteenth time, urged security agencies and the INEC to be professional in their conduct to avoid infractions that characterized the just concluded presidential and National Assembly polls across the country.
Governor Dickson, who spoke at a meeting with all his political appointees, in Yenagoa, said he has no problem with the deployment of security operatives so far as they abide by the rules of their engagement.
The governor, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media Relations, Mr Fidelis Soriwei, however, reiterated his call on the people to remain steadfast in their resolve to resist intimidation and harassment while exercising their franchise.
According to the Governor, it is shameful that instead of canvassing for support from the electorate, the state leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have resorted to violence and begging security agencies to swing votes in their favour.
He decried the violence that rocked parts of the state which claimed three lives including a Government House photographer, Mr Reginald Dei, assuring that no stone will be left unturned to ensure that the perpetrators of the dastardly act are brought to book.
Governor Dickson urged political appointees to intensify their efforts at maintaining the dominance of the Peoples Democratic Party by winning all the 24 seats in the state House of Assembly.
He described what transpired in some parts of the state in the last presidential and national assembly elections as a charade, noting that INEC disregarded its guidelines to announce concocted results in favour of the APC.
The Governor, who noted that PDP won everywhere election actually took place in the state during the February 23rd polls, assured the party faithful that efforts are on top gear to recover their stolen mandate.
He urged the people of the state to pray and resist all forms of oppression being perpetrated against the state in the name of election.
His words, “There plan is to over run and forcefully takeover our dear state through terrorism and military occupation. And they have found willing tools in our criminal brothers who are in the APC.
” They are doing all of this under the pretext of election. It is shameful and our country’s democracy is under threat. But what they don’t know is that the whole world is now watching Nigeria dancing naked.
“I hear they want to deploy more military personnel to this state for election duty. I don’t have any problem with that. All we are saying is that security agencies should do their job professionally.
“They should not connive with the APC to disenfranchise and cheat us. All we are saying is that, INEC should not throw away their guidelines by announcing concocted results like they did in the last elections.
“We all know in this state, that our party, the PDP won fair and square in all the units, wards, constituencies and local government areas where elections actually took place. INEC also knows it.
“There is no APC in this state. They know our people are standing with the PDP. That is why they don’t bother to campaign because what they are counting on is what they have always used against us, federal might. But I’m sure our people will continue to resist them.
“My charge to you this afternoon, is for all of you to relocate to your various communities to mobilise our people to vote massively for the PDP so that we will win all the 24 seats in the state’s House of Assembly.
“Tell them to cooperate with every law enforcement agent that is doing his or her lawful duty during and after the election. But tell them that they have my support to resist any security personnel that has been deployed to do any rubbish to favour APC.”
On this note, the meeting ended with special prayers offer for the Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah who clocked 65 years.
