The Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has boasted that the opposition All Progressives Congress and its candidate, Timipre Sylva, will not stand a chance against him in the supplementary governorship election in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area on Saturday.
The governor beat his chest on Monday while addressing a press conference in Yenagoa. His address was titled ‘State of affairs in the past couple of weeks.
Dickson said his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, would defeat the APC like it did in six out of the seven LGAs where the election was conducted on December 5, 2015 before it was declared inconclusive.
The rerun governorship election will be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission in Southern Ijaw LGA and 101 other units across six LGAs.
Dickson said he had mobilised the people of Southern Ijaw to guard against snatching of ballot boxes, electoral materials and manipulation of the process by the opposition candidate and his agents.
He told journalists that he had been holding meetings with the various stakeholders in Southern Ijaw including chiefs and presidents of youth groups ahead of the rescheduled poll.
The governor said the APC leadership was desperate to capture Bayelsa to “expand their scope across the Atlantic (Ocean).”
“I have mobilised Southern Ijaw people and no one will be able to hijack electoral materials and take them to their homes to manipulate the process.
“The party, APC, is desperate. Their candidate is desperate. I hear they want to expand their empire across the Atlantic.”
According to Dickson, the Federal Government will be laying a foundation for another Boko Haram if non-state actors are allowed to bear arms and compromise the security of Bayelsa State.
He said although Sylva was his friend, he did not like his brand of politics of violence, adding that he (Dickson) would roundly defeat him and the APC again and again.
He advised the agencies of the Federal Government that have a role to play in the election not to deploy ‘federal might’ against the will of voters and rig the poll in favour of Sylva and the APC.
The governor stated, “I hereby restate my call on all federal institutions that have a role to play in the election to be non-partisan in order not to undermine the integrity of the electoral process and the nation’s democracy.
PUNCH