Fear has gripped residents of Bayelsa State ahead of today’s governorship election scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission to seek the successor of Governor Seriake Dickson, who is on the verge of completing his two terms of eight years.
Shortly after the incident, the APC and the PDP members traded allegations with each camp claiming innocence in the violence that led to the death of a driver of Outside Broadcasting Van attached to Radio Bayelsa, Simon Onu.Onu was reportedly hit by one of the stray bullets that flew around at the local government area following sustained gunshots by the thugs.
“Meanwhile, Bayelsa State Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson, has insisted that the rally must go on. The Governor, who condemned the violence, urged the security agencies to take full control of the situation for the PDP rally to hold peacefully.” “As soon as they arrived at the community, they started chanting war songs, destroying APC banners and billboards, and taunted APC members in their support bases.
The two parties have also accused each other of hiring thugs and importing arms into the state for the purpose of the election. Lyon yesterday called on security agencies in charge of the poll to stop the ongoing movement of thugs into the state. “In Ogbia, the thugs are to work with a known local government official and a lawmaker”, he said. He said the thugs had been handed weapons including AK47 rifles and would be kitted in military and police fatigue to confuse security arrangement for the poll.
“Having seen that the first strategy of procuring court judgments is dead on arrival, they have activated their next strategy of resorting to violence. Their thugs have started arriving Bayelsa from neighbouring states and they will be deployed in APC strongholds to create atmosphere of insecurity and prevent people from coming out.
But the state Governor, Seriake Dickson, has also accused the APC of plotting to hijack the poll through violence in connivance with security agencies. He lamented that the APC was banking on electoral fraud, through connivance with INEC, and the use of violence and mayhem through the use of the security forces to harass and intimidate innocent voters. Dickson, who said the PDP abhorred violence, expressed the confidence that his party would sweep the gubernatorial election on November 16.
Nigeria Latest News, Nigeria Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: DailyPostNGR - 🏆 11. / 59 Read more »
Source: TheNationNews - 🏆 6. / 69 Read more »
Source: vanguardngrnews - 🏆 5. / 75 Read more »
Source: Daily Trust - 🏆 13. / 51 Read more »
Source: DailyPostNGR - 🏆 11. / 59 Read more »
Source: MobilePunch - 🏆 8. / 63 Read more »