- Governor Diri warns against illegal uniformed groups’ activities, plans to perpetrate violence during the November governorship election
- Diri emphasizes Bayelsa’s intolerance for political violence, highlights BVAS system’s role in ensuring fair elections and discouraging intimidation
Senator Douye Diri, Governor of Bayelsa State, has stated that the state will not tolerate the activities of illegal uniformed groups before and during the November 11 governorship election.
He spoke yesterday at the Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall in Yenagoa during a song service in memory of a late All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Chief Nestor Binabo, a former Speaker of the House of Assembly and acting governor of the state.
Diri, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, stated that some politicians planned to arm youths dressed in acquired uniforms to perpetrate violence during the election.
The governor advised such groups to avoid the state or face the wrath of the law, adding that the state was no longer a battleground.
While extolling Binabo’s virtues, Diri emphasised that he was never known to patronise thugs for election purposes, and he urged other politicians to follow in his “noteworthy example.”
He said;
Those civilians plotting to dress in military toga during the November election, it is time they realised that Bayelsa was no longer the spot for such games played over the years. That culture of political violence has to stop.
We are happy that now we have the BVAS. So, those used to violence to attain offices, even from the point of view of INEC, have to stop. With BVAS, you can no longer write election results or intimidate and terrorise the same people you want to lead. If you plan to do that, please, I advise you join the military.