An Ijaw solidarity group, Amaebi Foundation, has decried what it calls an attempt by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to discredit the governorship election in Bayelsa State by publishing false statements about the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the military and other security agencies, and the federal government.
In a statement in Yenagoa, Amaebi Foundation accused PDP of acting out a wicked script that involves claiming an “illusory victory” and trying to damage the reputation of the election and security management institutions in order to justify a plot to unleash further violence on the state when it loses the poll.
The statement reads, “Since the last 48 hours, the new and mainstream media have been inundated with vicious calumnies published by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) about the institutions managing the governorship election process in Bayelsa State.
“Specifically, the Independent National Electoral Commission, the military, and other security agencies have been the butt of a smear campaign by PDP in a desperate attempt to discredit a historic election that the people of Bayelsa State see as a golden opportunity to make a bold statement for change.
“PDP has bandied results and all manner of spurious claims regarding the December 5 governorship election in an obvious attempt to second-guess the decision of the Bayelsa people to change their socio-economic and political misfortune through the ballot box.
“They have imported thugs from neighbouring states to try to intimidate peace-loving Bayelsans into abandoning their resolve. Having failed to intimidate the people, they have embarked on a campaign to discredit the election process and the integrity of the military and the security agencies.
“After unleashing violence on the state, PDP has turned round to use it to justify calls for the suspension of the rerun election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, which had been rescheduled as a result of the violence. PDP, to all intents and purposes, was never prepared for the governorship election and never wanted it to hold, as their recent activities show.
“We see all these as a ploy by PDP to justify further violence on the state when their claim of illusory victory is finally disproved by the collective decision of the Bayelsa people to embrace positive change, which will soon be announced by INEC.
“Governor Seriake Dickson and the PDP will be held responsible for any outbreak of violence in the state. All Nigerians are living witnesses to the recent attacks on Senator Heineken Lopkpobiri, Chief Timipre Sylva, and other leaders of our people, which have been capped by a call by Dickson for the suspension of the rerun election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area holding today. All these, obviously, are dress rehearsals for a bigger violence planned by the PDP when the governorship election result is announced by INEC and a winner is declared.
“Dickson and PDP must retract from this trite, worn wicked strategy that can never fetch it anything good.”
-Leadership