Admin l Saturday, September 22, 2018
YENEGOA, Bayelsa, Nigeria – The immediate past chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Chief Tiwe Oruminighe has called on security agents to investigate the stockpiling of arms by some politicians. The demand is coming on the heels of a similar call by the Chairman of the PDP in the state, Hon. Cleopas Moses, who raised the alarm that the leaders of the APC led by Chief Timipre Sylva and Senator Heineken Lokpobiri are stockpiling arms in the state in the build up to the 2019 general election in order to cause mayhem.
The former APC chairman said in Yenagoa on Saturday while featuring on a live radio programme, The Mandate, that the evil plot was real and must be taken seriously in order to avoid loss of innocent lives and destruction of properties as was the case in 2015. Tiwe said he also got wind of the plans and was not surprised because it was the usual strategy of Sylva and Lokpobiri.
He said, “Security agents should act on the information provided by our chairman. It is not a false alarm because some of us are also privy to the source of such information. We need to avoid any form of violence as we have seen in the past. Killings and destructions are not party of politics in a civilised society.
“What the people of Bayelsa wants is a free, fair and credible electoral process. We don’t want anyone to die. But the security agents must act fast because those who are behind the plot are known by their antecedents of violence and they want to take over Bayelsa by all means”.
He described former governor, Timipre Sylva as a crude and desperate politician who will go to any length to achieve his parochial interest. Tiwe alleged that Sylva was the one who recently masterminded the failed arrest of him and the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Brass Local Government Area, Hon. Victor Isaiah because of his insistence to silence them.
According to him, it took the strong and bold resistance of him and some sympathizers who gathered within a short time, to resist the security agents from taking them away. Tiwe stated that Sylva was pained by his exit from the APC and also disturbed by his inability to control Brass local government, so he has perfected several ways to put them behind bars.
“I know what Timipre Sylva is capable of doing. I believe that he was behind that action. I wasn’t surprised and I also know that he will attempt to carry out another arrest or something more cruel. If not for my charge, they would have succeeded. When they came, they said they are from Abuja and i asked them if they have a warrant of arrest and they couldn’t show us. You see people like us shouldn’t be treated anyhow. Some of us who pay tax should be respected. I told them if they want us for anything they should do a formal invitation to us because we are not criminals” he said.
While given more insight on why he dumped the APC, the former Southern Ijaw Council boss explained that he was tired of a party that lacks internal democracy and the attitude of Sylva towards issues that has to do with development in the state.
He pointed out that Sylva was always in the habit of imposing candidates on the party and using the APC to trade and satisfy himself from the comfort of his Abuja home at the expense of everyone. The former APC helmsman said those who are still taken Sylva serious are doing so at their own detriment as the former governor lacks the capacity to lead the party and make it win elections.
He commended Governor Seriake Dickson for providing the right kind of leadership for the state and the PDP, saying the governor is a true democrat and statesman who has made significant impact to address the level of underdevelopment in Bayelsa State.
“Dickson is an advocate of free, fair and credible elections. I have since I came back to the PDP interacted freely with him on a number of occasions and I am impressed and convinced about his commitment and dedication to democratic tenets and development. He is indeed a strong democrat.
“For the last six years he has steered the ship of the state very well. He has invested massively in infrastructure, education and health to the admiration of many within and outside the state. Look at the airport for instance, I never believed when I heard about it until I went there and saw it myself. It is an airport that is second to none in this country.”
