Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
There is no level of intimidation and militarization that would gift the All Progressive Congress (APC) a victory in the House of Assembly elections slated for Saturday, Governor Henry Seriake Dickson has boasted.
Dickson, who stated this while addressing political appointees of his administration, called on Bayelsans to remain steadfast and resist intimidation and harassment in their bid to exercise their franchise.
The governor, saying that it was shameful that opposition candidates in the APC and their leaders are not campaigning to persuade the electorate to vote for them but relying on the military and INEC to rig elections for them, assured that all those that are behind the killings during the presidential and national assembly polls would be brought to book.
Governor Dickson urged the political appointees to intensify their efforts at maintaining the dominance of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by winning all 24 seats in the state House of Assembly.
“There is a plan is to overrun and forcefully takeover our dear state through terrorism and military occupation. And they have found willing tools in brothers who are in the APC,” the governor claimed.
“They are doing all of this under the pretext of election. It is shameful [that] our country’s democracy is under threat. But what they don’t know is that the whole world is now watching Nigeria dancing naked. 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 am sure our people will continue to resist them.”
Meanwhile, the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) and Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) have passed a vote of no confidence on the Bayelsa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Pastor Monday Tom Udoh, for working contrary to the INEC guidelines.
CUPP chairman Chief Tari Edwin and his IPAC Counterpart, Eneyi Zidougha, in a statement alleged that Udoh has demonstrated a brazen violation of the electoral guidelines in the country and, therefore, called for his redeployment.
“We, the members of the Coalition of United Political Parties and the Interparty Advisory Council, are appalled by the lack of capacity demonstrated by the Bayelsa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Pastor Monday Tom Udoh. We are yet to recover from the shock that Mr Udoh accepted concocted results in an election that did not take place in Nembe Bassambiri. The REC went further to announce that 63 card readers were missing in some local government areas where he has already produced misleading results to the Commission.
“Based on the dwindling trust we have for the REC, we, hereby, call on the Independent National Electoral Commission to redeploy the REC to where his action will not do so much damage to the Commission and indeed the society.”