By Amos Okioma,
Yenagoa
Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, and Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State have expressed divergent views on insecurity in the state.
Dickson had on Friday accused Lokpobiri and leaders of All Progressives Congress (APC) of being the masterminds of election violence in the state.
It would be recalled that the leader of APC in the state Ex-Governor Timipre Sylva; and Lokpobiri had led members of APC on a protest match to Police headquarters in Bayelsa over the killing of APC members during rallies, recently.
A statement signed by Mr George Orgi, the Special Adviser to Lokpobiri on Media, said that Dickson has resorted to blame-game against the main opposition political party.
Lokobiri stated that accusing APC in the state of “plotting to use the security agencies to rig, manipulate and unleash violence on voters in the state,” was false and malicious.
“In the warped imagination of the governor, the leadership of the main opposition political party in the state “is arming thugs with all sorts of ammunition and weapons to attack the electorate.”
“This allegation comes as no surprise to those who are familiar with the political antics and deceit of the governor.
“It is on record that every time the governor contemplates or indeed perpetrates any political violence and sinister acts, he is always the first to come out to cry blue murder.
“APC is not surprised at this recent allegation by Dickson.
“Suddenly, it has dawned on His Excellency that the game is up for him following last week’s protest rally led by the leadership of APC where the plot by the Governor to use the police to kill, maim, cause violence and eventually rig the forthcoming elections in the state was exposed to the whole world.
“It is on record that Dickson is the one stockpiling arms and using the instrumentality of some security agencies to harass, intimidate and bully the people.
“It is also an indisputable fact that the governor has gone ahead to appoint militants as chairmen and vicecChairmen of Local Government Councils and to use them to continue to perpetrate violence across the state.
“Luckily, the security agents are now on red alert to deal with anybody caught fomenting trouble or instigating violence in the state.
“Only last week, some hoodlums, who were later found to be card-carrying members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) were apprehended with guns molesting and harassing innocent citizens in Yenegoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
“These miscreants upon interrogation revealed the source and funders of the arms found in their possession,” Lokpobiri stated.
