That Southern Ijaw would emerge the decider of the winner of the Bayelsa State governorship election is not surprising to close observers of the politics of the state. It started since 1999 when former governor, the late Peter Solomon Diepreye Alamieyeseigha from the local government, was elected governor on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Before Yenagoa overtook it in terms of the number of voters in 2015, Southern Ijaw used to be the local government with the highest number of voters and because of its peculiarity with far flung communities, a breath away from the Atlantic Ocean, its voting strength used to be the ace up the sleeve of the then dominant party, PDP.
However, with the sharp divide among the Bayelsa political elite into the PDP and the main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the battle for the governorship seat had become messier with Governor Henry Seriake Dickson and his main challenger, Chief Timipre Sylva, jostling for the votes of the people of the local government in the bid to emerge governor in the supplementary governorship election in Southern Ijaw fixed for Saturday, January 9 after INEC had cancelled the re-run election held on December 6 over reported cases of ballot snatching, kidnap of electoral officials and widespread violence.
While 38,000 votes are at stake at the 101 polling units, in six other local councils, namely Ekeremor, Sagbama, Yenagoa, Ogbia, Nembe and Brass, the major battle would be at Southern Ijaw, which had a total number of 109,197 voters with Permanent Voters Card (PVCs) given that Dickson is leading Sylva with 33,000 votes. Not only that, strong political actors from the PDP and the APC from Southern Ijaw have raised the stake ahead the election. On the part of the PDP is the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Kombowei Friday Benson, and the Chief of Staff to the governor, Hon. Talford Ongolo. For the APC is Sylva’s running mate, Chief Wilberforce Igiri, and the state chairman of the party, Chief Timipa Tiwei Orunimghe. Also on the sidelines are ex-militant leaders, who have also been divided over the governorship tussle. Joshua Maciver and Pastor Reuben Wilson have pitched their tent with the PDP while General Africa, Ogunboss, Boyloaf, Young Shall Grow have identified with the APC.
Since INEC fixed Saturday, January 9 for the supplementary election, allegations and counter allegations of plans to unleash violence and rig are being levelled by both the PDP and the APC.
In a recent world press conference, Dickson raised alarm that the APC has concluded plans to disrupt the election by unleashing violence on the people of Southern Ijaw. He also stated that there are moves to compromise key federal institutions in the bid to rig the APC into power.
He said: “The people of Southern Ijaw are waiting eagerly and more determined to cast their ballot. The only thing we are asking is that, those institutions that have the duty to make it possible for the people of the area to cast their votes should please, in the interest of our nation and the security and stability of our state and this region and in the interest of our nation’s fledgling democracy, do their utmost best so that the people can join the rest of their brothers and sisters in this state by casting their votes in a free, fair and credible manner. I want to remind the leaders of our nation, those heading strategic national institutions not to use them to promote either a partisan agenda of a political party or to advance the political aspirations of anybody, not even me because I don’t need anybody to kill or maim for me to achieve my political ambition. I am a man of peace and everybody knows our track records on peace and security”.
Before Dickson’s alarm, the PDP leadership in the state in a statement signed by its acting chairman, Chief Serena- Dokubo Spiff, the secretary, Godspower Keku and the publicity secretary had called for the arrest of ex-militant leaders that allegedly unleashed violence in Southern Ijaw on December 5 and 6 and planning a repeat performance on January 9.
The national leadership of the PDP through its national publicity secretary, Olisa Metuh has warned APC and INEC of dire consequences. In what some political analysts have termed an open invitation to violence to PDP members in the state, Metuh has directed them to use all means necessary to defend their votes.
“We issue this statement as a direct notice to the APC and its compromised INEC, military and other security operatives, who have been stationed to ostensibly assist to produce fictitious votes with which the APC intends to declare itself winner. Let it be known to all that the PDP is fully mobilised for Saturday’s supplementary election. Our members across Southern Ijaw have been stationed in every polling unit, every collation centre and every exit and entry point in the area, and have been directed to use all means available in a democracy to stop the APC in its trail.
“Southern Ijaw Local Government Area is a well-known stronghold of the PDP and we will not, in any way, accept anything short of free, fair and credible elections, abundantly reflecting the will of the people. Anything to the contrary will attract terrible consequences. We restate our resolve that never again would the PDP allow itself to be manipulated out in any election at any level, no matter the intimidation by the APC-led administration.
“Consequent upon our loss of confidence in INEC and security agencies, we hereby make public our instruction to our members and supporters not to leave the polling area after casting their votes but to remain alert within the distance provided by law and go ahead to use all means necessary to defend and protect their votes should there be any attempt by anybody to rig the process”.
The Chairman of the PDP Governor’s Forum and Governor of Ondo state, Olusegun Mimiko has also added his voice to the growing concern over the Bayelsa election by appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari and federal institutions saddled with the election not to interfere in the process.
“We the PDP governors have an important message to the President and all those whom God has placed in positions of authority in Nigeria today; that the irreducible minimum of democracy is credible election. I think commitment to democracy and development must be commitment to credible election.
“We are appealing to all the major institutional stakeholders in this Saturday’s election to please, for God’s sake, and for the sake of this country and our children and even for the sake of those young enthusiasts of the social media, who actually canvassed and voted for change; the greatest change you can bequeath to this country moving forward, is to ensure that we have a very predictable and credible way for people to access leadership”.
A group sympathetic to the APC, Patriots of Ijaw Nation ( PIN) has punctured the claims of the PDP by raising alarm over the alleged plans by the Dickson administration to use ex-militants from Delta and Rivers to disrupt the election.
PIN in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Kesiye Newman said intelligence reports have indicated that PDP has concluded plans to cause mayhem in its bid to scare people away and record low voters turn out.
“We are aware that a Principal Officer of the House of Assembly in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area has held a meeting where they perfected a plan to move into Bayelsa State with a combined team of militants from Rivers and Delta states that would be camped at his country home. The purpose is to use the militants to cause mayhem and violence during the January 9, 2016 elections in the state. Monies have been sent to the community to support the plan.
The same team of militants that went to attack the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, during the December 5, 2015 election has been engaged to do this dastardly act in order to scare away voters. Governor Dickson had earlier called a meeting with all militants in Government House, where monies were disbursed and promises made of more largesse if the armed groups could successfully disrupt the coming elections, especially in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area. That way, it would be easier for Dickson and PDP to maintain their lead in the inconclusive governorship elections”.
He continued: “PIN condemns this nefarious plot against the people. We call on the security agencies to investigate this before the elections are marred by violence. Southern Ijaw is very critical to determining the winner of any state-wide election in Bayelsa. Dickson knows this, and knowing also that the people of the local government council have overwhelmingly thrown their weight behind APC and Sylva, Dickson is desperately doing everything possible to mar the elections there. But we are determined to make sure his evil plans fail”.
The national leadership of the APC has accused the PDP of beating war drums ahead of the Saturday election. The national secretary of the party, Mai Mala Buni in a statement issued in Abuja said it was aware of PDP’s plot to intimidate eligible voters, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials and security operatives deployed to ensure peaceful, free and credible rerun in Bayelsa State on Saturday.
He said: “While the APC prays for a peaceful, free and credible supplementary election on Saturday, security agencies must be on high alert over the dangerous threats by the PDP to cause a breakdown of law and order in Bayelsa State on Saturday. The days of ‘do-or-die’ politics are over. Never again will the country return to the PDP ways of election fraud and violence. Change has come. We call on the PDP to embrace the new Nigeria where elections are peaceful and votes of the people count”.
Sylva in a press conference at the campaign headquarters urge Bayelsans to hold Dickson responsible if there is a breakdown of law and order in Bayelsa state during and after the election on Saturday.
Describing Dickson as a war monger, he said the APC had uncovered plot by the PDP to disrupt the election through the stockpiling of arms.
“Dickson has been author of violence and he has planned to attack Southern Ijaw during the election. Because the PDP government knows that the APC is set to upturn such unfair means and win our strong hold, they have started making false claims. Because the PDP government is on his way out, they have put together a plot to perpetuate violence in Southern Ijaw Area. “The antecedents of the PDP candidate, Governor Seriake Dickson, have shown that his desperate accusations against the APC were actually plot in motions by him and his party. Dickson has a penchant of accusing me of plan to sponsor violence when in the true sense, he (Dickson) is the one actually mobilising and paying thugs to win an election that he would lose in Southern Ijaw council.
“He knows how he became governor with impunity. And he is thinking the APC will deploy the same might under President Buhari. The APC Government cannot do that.”
Feelers from Southern Ijaw indicate that tension is building ahead of the election, as the two contending parties are mobilising for the election and unless security agents are up and doing and move to neutralise the militia already armed for the election, the violence of December 5 and 6 would only be a dress rehearsal to what would be witnessed on Saturday and a prelude to a post-election violence with devastating consequences.
About The Nigerian Blogger
0 comments :
Post a Comment