Bayelsa November Election: Group Alleges  Plot To Rig Election Using Violence In Opu Nembe

The Bayelsa Political Watch has informed the Independent National Electoral Commission and security authorities of a scheme to rig the state’s upcoming gubernatorial election.

The group urged security services and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to shun any temptation and avoid being involved in the heinous scheme to disrupt the state’s election.

The group also urged the country’s security chiefs to avert additional violence in Nembe Bassambiri, the state’s Nembe Local Government Area.

Mr. Nadione Harrison, the group’s coordinator, also urged the State Government to work with security services across political lines to protect lives and property on Election Day.

The group also urged candidates in the November 11 election to guarantee that innocent Bayelsa citizens are not slain in the name of political power.

Nadione stated that the sanctity of Bayelsans’ lives and property must be emphasised at all times, even on the day of the governorship election.

He stated that the group finds it pertinent to raise the alarm in view of the increasing possibility of repeated violence in Nembe Bassabiri as shown by the political violence and killings in the area on August 12.

He recalled that over 22 people were killed during the pre-Election Day violence in the same Opu Nembe (Bassambiri) in 2019.

Nadione said that more worrisome was the fact that those who carried out the violence that led to the mindless killings and incapacitation of innocent Bayelans have not been brought to book.

He urged those who desire to win elections to appeal to voters through intensified political campaigns and not through the deployment of arms and ammunition and the slaughter of innocent people as orchestrated in Opu Nembe.

He said that every reasonable parent would be concerned about the deployment of innocent Corpers to areas with records of violence without reassurance from the security agencies and INEC.

The group commended the decision of the State Government to halt further aggravation of the political violence in the area by banning the activities of the Council of Chiefs and Youths’ Council in Opu-Nembe on September 2.

The group said that the decision taken to restore public peace and order in Opu-Nembe indicated clearly that the government placed emphasis on the protection of lives and properties.

“As the governorship election in Bayelsa draws closer, we find it necessary to call on the security agencies and the independent national election commission to focus special attention on violence-prone areas in the state.

“The recent politically related killings in Opu Nembe on August 12, a few months before the election makes it necessary for the appropriate agencies to take proactive measures to prevent further loss of lives.

“This state cannot forget in a hurry the mindless slaughter of 22 persons in the last gubernatorial election in the state. We are of the view that such heinous crimes committed under the cover of politics can be prevented.

“We commend the state Governor, Senator Douye Diri,  for the proactive step of banning activities of the Council of Chiefs and Youths’ Council in the volatile area.

“It is important to note that no parent would readily allow his ward to be deployed as corp members to carry out election duties in areas where desperate politicians can cut short their lives.”