The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Yekini Nabena has accused the Bayelsa state Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson of stockpiling arms in different Local Governments of the state ahead of the General Elections.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, Nabena said the alleged arms buildup could be traced particularly in Brass, Ekeremor and Southern Ijaw areas of the state.
The Bayelsa-born APC Chieftain said “While it is sad to imagine that a seating governor at the tail of his second tenure has exhausted public acceptance for both himself and his party to the level he has dissolved his entire campaign strategy to propaganda and violence, it should be remembered that the high level violence Mr Dickson is banking on is not alien to him. He has, infact, been a direct beneficiary of violence in all his years in politics.
“Stockpiling of arms in an already fragile state like Bayelsa is evil, but for Governor Dickson this is one evil he is ready to subject the Bayelsa people to because of his seemingly infinite political ambitions.
“He became a governor in 2011 by propaganda and violence, in 2015 he forced his reelection by the barrel of a gun, assisted, of course, by some corrupt staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“In that election, which is regarded as the most violent in Bayelsa state history, thugs loyal to Governor Dickson attacked the residence of the Minister Of State for Agric And Rural Development, Senator Heinekken Lokpobiri, engaged in a shootout with his security details in a bid to kill the Minister, the thug who led that attack was later appointed Caretaker Chairman by Governor Dickson.
“During that election, both Brass local government area and Southern Ijaw LGA were engulfed in violence. Governor Dickson rewarded violence, which is way anyways, by appointing the key actors of that violence as Local Government chairmen.
“Dickson is once again employing the strategy of violence by stockpiling arms in various local government areas of the state, importing and sponsoring thugs with state funds to intimidate, kill, harras and oppress the very Bayelsans he claims to govern.
“Under Dickson, APC rally has been shot at by hired thugs, killing two persons about two years ago. APC members have been killed in Brass and Nembe, just weeks ago an APC member loyal to the APC candidate for the Bayelsa West Senatorial District, Captain Karimo, was stabbed by thugs loyal to Dickson.
“But APC has not been the sole recipient of Governor Dickson’s violence. The entire state has been. There is the massacre at Amassoma, the bloody way he has quelled protests in the state and his attack on judges when he personally led thugs to the Onopa high court and beat up judges, an act which was captured on camera.
“We are calling on the Police, the Department for State Security, the civil defense, the military and the security community in general to critically investigate the stockpiling of arms in Bayelsa state ahead of the imminent elections.”
Nabena also hailed President Muhammadu Buhari’s tough stance and security marching orders against individuals planning to rig the forthcoming elections through violence, ballot box snatching and other criminal means.
“Any plot to subvert the will the people must be met with the full weight of the law. Our votes must count,” he said.
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