The governorship ambition of Bayelsa State All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, suffered another setback on Wednesday as a socio-cultural group, Ijaw Elders for Good Governance, accused him of taking the people of the state for granted by ignoring their calls to showcase his achievements while in office and what he intends to do.
The group noted with dismay that with less than five weeks to the conduct of the governorship election, neither Sylva nor the leadership of his party is yet to intimate the people with the campaign plan.
Making this known in a statement signed by its chairman, Elder Goodness Abbey, the group said Sylva had vindicated the position of opposition party that he has nothing to offer the state.
The group posited that if Sylva thinks President Muhammadu Buhari will support his violent approach to issues in order to win the election, he is making a mistake. “Mr. President will not support anything that will tarnish his reputation”.
Describing the APC approach as not only crude but undemocratic, the group said it is unheard of that a party is contesting an election without embarking on any campaign.
Calling on security operatives to beam its searchlight on the APC, the group said the position of APC on the forthcoming election has lent credence to the submission of the Peoples Democratic Party that it is planning to seize power through violence.
The statement reads in part: “The position of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is clear on the issue of campaign. It is an opportunity for the party to unfold its developmental plans.
“However, this is not the case with the APC, rather than embarking on campaign, its members are disrupting the existing peace in the state.
“Even though we are non partisan, we commended the efforts of the Peoples Democratic Party, especially its community based campaign approach. This has afforded the people the opportunity to assess its performance. The APC should borrow a leaf from the PDP rather than banking on federal might and the use of violence”.
