Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Minister of State for Petroleum and Director General of Bayelsa All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Campaign Council, Timipre Sylva, has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of causing mayhem in Nembe which is APC stronghold to weaken the resolve of the people to vote out the party on Saturday.
Sylva, who addressed a press conference while expressing sadness over the deaths recorded in Nembe, called on security agencies to act on the intelligence report over the activities of certain PDP chieftains.
He described the Nembe people as peace-loving and wondered why violence had not broken out in the area since campaigns started.
Sylva called on the people to eschew violence and conduct themselves peaceful during and after the election so as not to give the Governor Seriake Dickson-led PDP government any room to disrupt the election.
“The killing in Nembe is very sad. One of the people reported dead is from Epie. It shows that people from other local government went to Nembe to cause problem. We already got the intelligence and told security agencies that their strategy is to go to Nembe and cause mayhem.
“PDP knows that Nembe is not their stronghold so they want to cause chaos. It is not Nembe people that attacked them; it is not APC people that attacked them. Nembe people are peace-loving people. Everybody had gone there to campaign and nothing happen there, everybody had gone elsewhere to campaign and nothing happen.”
However, the PDP governorship candidate, Douye Diri, has accused Sylva of sending APC thugs to attack PDP members in Nembe.
Diri, who disclosed six members of the PDP have been confirmed dead while 12 are still missing, said what APC is doing in Nembe is akin to what Boko Haram is doing in northern Nigeria.
He called for a state of emergency in the area, noting that there cannot be a peaceful, free, credible and fair election for PDP members to participate as they are still being hounded in Nembe-Bassmabiri.