Bayelsa: Governors’ Forum, PDP warn Buhari, security agencies; urge president to call Lokpobiri to order

The Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum, on Tuesday, called on President Muhammadu Buhari and relevant agencies of government to ensure a hitch free supplementary election in Bayelsa State on Saturday, arguing that such a credible exercise would testify to his administration’s commitment to positive change in the country.
Also, the Forum expressed confidence in Governor Seriake Dickson’s ability to sweep the poll given the results of the elections held so far and his numerous achievements in all the sectors of the economy in the state.
The Chairman of the Forum and the Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, while making the call during a courtesy visit to Dickson in Government House, Yenagoa said Dickson was in a vantage position having led with over 33,000 votes in six out of the seven local governments where results had already been declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC).
He pointed out that the much talked about change of the APC Federal Government would be a smokescreen if those in positions of authority failed to consolidate on the legacy of free and fair elections bequeathed by the immediate past administration, adding that during the tenure of the immediate past President, the PDP lost three governorship elections back to back, yet the heavens did not fall.
Said Governor Mimiko: “We the PDP Governors have an important message to the President and all those who God has placed in positions of authority in Nigeria today; that the irreducible minimum of democracy is credible election. I think commitment to democracy and development must be predicated on credible elections.
“We are appealing to all the major institutional stakeholders in this Saturday’s election to please for God’s sake and for the sake of this country and our children and even for the sake of those young enthusiasts of the social media who actually canvassed and voted for change realise that the greatest change you can bequeath to this country moving forward, is to ensure that we have a very predictable and credible way for people to access leadership.
“And when you talk about democracy, if you have passion about the development of this country, one of the critical legacies you can leave for this country is credible election because without credible election, we ain’t going no where. And I keep saying that APC must take a cue from former President Goodluck Jonathan who handed over power as a sitting President when his party lost, yet heavens did not fall”.
He pointed out that going by all the elections conducted so far, especially the last Presidential election, hardly did any constituency record more than 30% to 40% turnout of voters, stressing that the people are not expecting any departure from the norm in Saturday’s election. This observation was apparently elicited by fears of ballot stuffing and inflation of votes by the opposition in order to override Dickson’s clear and unassailable majority from the previous polls.
Mimiko noted that democracy is all about development and Governor Dickson has performed creditably well to deserve a second term in view of the life transforming projects the restoration government had put in place.
“But I have no doubt in my mind that by Saturday Bayelsa State will be rejoicing because Governor Seriake Dickson would have been declared unequivocally as the Governor of the state again and the restoration will continue.”
Also on Tuesday, the PDP said it would not accept anything short of free, fair and credible election in Saturday’s supplementary poll in the governorship election in Bayelsa.
This is contained in a statement by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, and issued in Abuja.
The supplementary poll will be conducted in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area where the exercise was cancelled, following widespread violence.
Metuh said that PDP had again rallied its formation in the state, particularly in Southern Ijaw, to use all means necessary in a democracy to resist any move to rig the supplementary election.
He claimed that Southern Ijaw was a well-known PDP stronghold and that the party would never accept any results that did not reflect the will of the people.
“Let it be known to all that the PDP is fully mobilised for Saturday’s supplementary election.
“Our members across Southern Ijaw have been stationed in every polling unit, every collation centre and every exit and entry point in the area, and have been directed to use all means available in a democracy to stop APC in its trail.
“Southern Ijaw Local Government is a well-known stronghold of the PDP and we will not in any way accept anything short of free, fair and credible election, abundantly reflecting the will of the people.
“Anything to the contrary will attract terrible consequences.
“We restate our resolve that never again would the PDP allow itself to be manipulated out in any election at any level, no matter the intimidation by the APC-led administration,’’ he said.
Metuh said that the party had called on its members and supporters not to leave the polling area after casting their votes but to remain alert within the distance provided by the law.
He also called on them to go ahead to use all means necessary to defend and protect their votes, should there be any attempt by anybody to rig the process.
“The PDP will intently monitor and keep records of activities, including all votes cast in every polling unit in Southern Ijaw and our members will not hesitate to unleash a legitimate anger, if at any point in collation, fictitious figures appear.”
Meanwhile, chiefs and people of Ekeremor Community, headquarters of Ekeremor Local Government Area, have expressed serious concern over visible threats of violence, lives and property by the Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri.
To this end, the community has, in a strong-worded letter to Buhari, requested that the Minister of State be called to order in the interest of the peace, security and for the people to exercise their franchise.
In the letter dated the 3rd of January, 2016 and signed by Messrs. Preye Okoyen and James Ombeh, the Chairman and Secretary of the Community Development Committee (CDC), the people appealed to Buhari to check the excesses of Lokpobiri and call him to order, so that, there will be peace and security before, during and after the January 9 re-run election in 9 units of the community.
The Ekeremor people restated their preparedness to vote, pointing out that acts of violence and intimidation are totally condemn-able and called on the leaders of the various political parties and their followers to go about their activities in the most peaceful and lawful manner to enable the people exercise their civic responsibilities without molestation.
“We are constrained to appeal to Your Excellency to call on the Minister of State to order in the interest of peace, security and the exercise of our franchise.
“The people of Ekeremor community want to vote and do not want any violence and intimidation. Let every party leader and their followers go about lobbying peacefully and in a lawful manner so that the people can freely exercise their franchise”
The letter called the attention of Buhari to bracing acts of lawlessness by Lokpobiri, who on the 30th of December, 2015 arrived the community with a large number of uniformed and non-uniformed security personnel, including soldiers, who on the night of the 31st of December, 2015, under the guise of ushering in the New Year went about destroying the posters of rival party candidates and offices.
While calling for the urgent intervention of Buhari, the leadership of the Ekeremor community notes that already, there were signs of grave danger, stressing that, the tension in the community was palpably high.
It notes with regret that there could be breakdown of law and order, if nothing concrete is done, lamenting that, majority of the members of the community are troubled by the mere realization that, the minister, who is their own son, is the very person terrorizing and oppressing his own people, instead of protecting them.
“Mr. President, these are signs of grave danger that is looming in the community towards January 9 and the tension in the community is palpably high.
“We foresee breakdown of law and order if nothing concrete is done by the authorities, because majority of the people of the community cannot stomach the realization that we produced a Minister who has come to terrorize and oppress his own people whom he is supposed to protect”
Also, a civil society coalition, National Frontiers, has embarked on a sit out till Sunday January 10 at the Unity Fountain, Abuja on the militarisation and manipulation of election in Nigeria with focus on the forthcoming governorship election in Southern Ijaw.
The National Coordinator of the coalition, Olufemi Lawson, said on Tuesday that as a member of the Election Monitoring Group in the December 5 governorship election in Bayelsa State, he had first hand information of the use of the military to harass the electorate.
He emphasized that the Nigerian Police should be allowed to take charge of the election while the military can serve in the back ground rather than intimidating voters.
“Military were seen aiding and abetting people who are perpetrating electoral violence in Bayelsa State. The military must not been seen carrying election materials with militants. Election is a civil process and people must be allowed to choose the leader of their choice without intimidation”, Lawson said.
He also said that it is an indictment on the military for civilians to be in military uniform, perpetrating evil in broad day light. It is in course of this the group called on the Federal Government to ensure the re-run is void of intimidation from the military as election is suppose to be a civil process.
The coalition said that election must be free and fair. They kicked against what happened in the Southern Ijaw on the 5th of December where the military aided hijacking of election materials.
He called on the youth not to be allowed to be used for electoral violence as he said no life must be sacrificed for election.