From Juliana Taiwo- Obalonye, Abuja

BAYELSA State governor, Seriake Dickson has kicked against plans by the military to deploy force to quell the renewed Niger Delta renewed militancy.

Accordingg to Dickson who said he met with President Muhammadu Buhari to dis­cuss and exchange ideas on the way to resolve the issues in the Niger Delta, the use of force was not the best way to resolve the crisis.

The army top hierarchy had opt for full military opera­tions in the region to stop the resurgent vandalism of oil in­frastructure that has crippled the nation’s foreign exchange revenue, should dialogue fail.

Dickson told State House correspondents at the end of his closed-door meeting with the president that the ter­rain and history of the Niger Delta region had shown the futility of military invasion, thus his preference for lead­ers across board to collectively address the grievances of the people.

The governor who ex­pressed conviction that the ongoing discussions would yield result added that be­cause of the complex nature of the issues in the Niger Delta, dialogue and not the military solution was the right option.

“I have said that the issues in the Niger Delta, the terrain, the historic nature of the is­sues and challenges are such that military solution may not be the way forward. For us who are products of political system who are at this level, we have a duty to mobilise communal and local leader­ship, we have a duty to sup­port the work intelligence and security agencies are doing, we have a duty to ensure that issues are better appreciated and that we fill the commu­nication gap. And where there are issues those issues need be addressed and is also our duty to network like I’m doing now to ensure that problems that are identified as the route cause of some of these chal­lenges are looked into.

“The military solutions as I have always maintained is not the right option, we are hopeful that the ongoing dis­cussions will yield the desired result. I have always been in support of negotiations, of dialogue as the sustainable way forward. Dialogue will bring out the issues and then we will all unite around these common issues to move our country forward”.

Dickson who said he was also in the Presidential Villa to commend President Bu­hari for his non interference in the political process of his state, urged indigenes of the state to discountenance re­ports that Buhari influenced the elections of the state.

He called on Timipreye Syl­va and other political parties to work with him to move the state forward.

A tribunal sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday gave a ruling upholding the election of Dickson as proper and valid. The All Progressive Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Timipre Sylva, had filed a suit contesting the sup­plementary election held on January 9, 2016 saying it was untidy and alleging manipu­lation of results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to favour Dickson who is a member of the Peoples Demo­cratic Party.

He also said they also dis­cussed. the need for political leaders to unite across po­litical divide to tackle and find lasting solutions to the issues currently plaguing the coun­try.

Dickson said, “I came in this afternoon to have discussions with Mr. President. That is because my position has been and I believe that is the right position every political leader should take which is that af­ter general elections politi­cal leaders and citizens must unite and address common is­sues and find solutions to the problems of our country.

“All over the world, once nations have crisis, once na­tions come under attack, leaders unite across political lines. And I came to have dis­cussion with Mr. President and I thank him for that op­portunity and we cross fertil­ized ideas around issues of security.

“Of course as you know Bayelsa is central to the maintenance of law and or­der and stability in our coun­try particularly in the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa is the epic center of the issues that has to do with the Niger Del­ta. And we had fruitful dis­cussions on the need for po­litical leaders, governmental and political leaders to work together to support the work of the security agencies and foster better understanding of even people who have grievances and that we are committed to do together.

“I also want to use this opportunity to appreciate Mr. President for his non-interference in the political processes that played out in Bayelsa in the last elections. And as you are also aware , yesterday (Tuesday) the Elections Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja delivered judgement upholding my election and affirming my emergence as a true product of the democratic exercise of rights of our people in the December 5th and January 9th.”