Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed accusations by the Governor of Bayelsa State, Henry Seriake Dickson, that security agents facilitated the victory of the APC in last weekend’s governorship election.
APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary Yekini Nabena, who reacted to the claim, chided the Governor for his allegations that security agents had aided the reported hijacking electoral materials in many local governments.
The APC spokesman urged Nigerians to disregard the claim, insisting that “it was obvious that the people of Bayelsa State had chosen to embrace the change and massively rejected Governor Dickson’s stooge.”
Speaking at a brief interactive session with reporters on Thursday in Abuja, Nabena said that he understood Dickson’s frustration after what he called the Governor’s his plan to “rig the election” failed.
Nabena advised the Governor to concentrate his efforts in preparing his handover notes.
He stated:
“Governor Dickson has decided to take out his frustration on security agencies, particularly the Army and Police, following the loss of his candidate in the recent Bayelsa governorship election. Why will Dickson blame security agencies for his loss?
“Bayelsans rejected Dickson, his candidate and the PDP. Governor Dickson can choose to hide under his media show after the election, but he knew defeat was imminent. That is why he tried unsuccessfully to use all manner of illegal tactics to rig the election including vote buying and violence to rig the election.
“While Governor Dickson must be commended for swiftly inaugurating the 41-member Bayelsa governorship transition committee, I advise him to concentrate on preparing his handover notes with the remaining time he has left in office,” he said.
The winner of the November 16 gubernatorial election, David Lyon of the APC, is scheduled to assume office on February 14, 2020.
Related: Bayelsa Governor-elect Lyon, Deputy presented with Certificate of Return
Describing the APC victory in Bayelsa as “a revolution against bad governance,” Nabena thanked the people of Bayelsa for their confidence in the APC.
The party spokesperson also thanked the APC campaign team led by the Jigawa State Governor, Abubakar Badaru, for their efforts in bringing about the change in Bayelsa State.
“Our people stood firm against their long standing oppressors to demand their freedom. We thank Bayelsans for their massive support for APC Governor-elect David Lyon and for their commitment to democracy.
“Nigerians know that you voted for the APC, even PDP knows that we rejected them on February 16, 2019, on account of bad governance and the international community knows you voted for APC,” Nabena said.
While assuring the people of Bayelsa of good governance, the APC spokesman called on the people to be vigilant in the remaining days of the outgoing Governor Dickson.