Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has alleged that the state is under the siege of the military.
He noted that the state is not at war, but the military allegedly decided to turn it into a garrison, with soldiers providing security for chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to unleash terror on voters.
Dickson, who said this in a media chat on the developments regarding the presidential and National Assembly elections held on Saturday, across the eight local government areas in the state, alleged that the APC chieftains, led by former governor Timipre Sylva, colluded with the military and electoral officials to disenfranchise the people of Nembe Bassambiri.
While commending the voters in Ekeremor community and Twon Brass for having the opportunity to vote, the governor said he is not hell bent that the PDP must win all the elections, but noted that the voters should be given the opportunity to pick who they want as leaders, without intimidation from the military.
“The 6 Division of the Nigerian Army is the most politicised division in the army. I’m going to do a formal letter to express my feelings on how soldiers colluded with politicians to unleash terror on our people. Bayelsa, as we speak, is under invasion. I don’t know what we’ve done to the Federal Government that our state would be turned into a garrison,” the governor lamented.
Dickson said aside Nembe Bassanbiri, where electoral materials were allegedly diverted, there were also diversion of electoral materials in some parts of Southern Ijaw. He slammed the resident electoral commissioner (REC) and the administrative secretary for being ‘lily-livered’ to accept illegal results.
He urged the people who were disenfranchised to protest legitimately, adding, that, “I will lead the demonstration to protest that the democratic rights of the people be respected.”
Dickson also alleged that intelligence reports indicated plans by some people to storm collation centres in Sagbama and Ekeremor, to tamper with results already collated.
He said he would set up a judiciary commission of inquiry, to document the roles of individuals, military personnel and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the conduct of the elections in the state.
Meanwhile, governor Dickson and two chieftains of the APC are trading blames over illegal possession of arms and vote disruption in Agbere community in Sagbama Local Government Area of the state.
Dickson alleged that the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Yekini Nabena, was caught with illegal arms, arrested by soldiers and later released after a phone call from Abuja.
The governor also accused the acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Prof. Nelson Brambiafa, of using soldiers to disrupt voting as well as burning of ballot papers at Agbere community.
Both chieftains have, however, denied Dickson’s claims and said the governor and the ruling PDP in state are jittery over the impending electoral loss and rejection by Bayelsans.
Nabena, in an interview, dismissed the claims of his arrest and accused the PDP of colluding with soldiers in Odi community to stock-pile arms, to destabilise the state after the release of the election results.
He urged the Nigerian Army to probe the soldiers stationed at Odi and mop up all illegal arms in the state.