Buhari Was Stoned In Bayelsa When He Came To Campaign For Timipre Sylva - Gov. Dickson

Seriake Dickson, governor of Bayelsa state, on
Monday said President Muhammadu Buhari was
stoned in 2011 when he visited the state as the
presidential candidate of the Congress for
Progressive Change (CPC).
Incidentally, Timipre Sylva, Dickson's rival and
candidate of the APC in the state governorship
election, was the governor of Bayelsa at the
time.
Addressing a press conference in Yenagoa,
capital of the state, Dickson said he ensured
that Buhari was secure during his visit to
Bayelsa as the presidential candidate of the All
Progressives Congress (APC).
''President Buhari, when he came to campaign
as CPC candidate, was stoned.'' He said. ''But I
granted state stadium to president Buhari, and
made adequate security for his safety when he
came to campaign again, because I knew that
these people could harm him or people in his
entourage and I didn’t want that to happen.''
Dickson also accused one of Buhari’s ministers,
apparently Heineken Lokpobiri, of ''terrorising''
people of the state ahead of Saturday rerun
election. The election, which held across the
state on December 8, was rescheduled to
January 9 in Southern Ijaw local government
area and over 100 polling units in other local
government areas, as a result of violence.
But Dickson placed the disturbances at the
doorstep of his opponents, saying he remains a
man of peace. He alleged that there were plans
to rig Saturday election in favour of Sylva and
called on the people to defend their votes.
Dickson accused Sylva of using his influence to
change the head of security agencies in the
state in order to perfect his plot. ''I'm the
proponent of political tolerance in this state.'' He
said.
''I don't need anybody to kill and maim for me,
I'm a man of peace and everybody knows. What
we have seen is a subversion of our national
security agencies. The minister sent thugs to
attack the collation centre, put off the
community generator, storm the collation centre,
took away the original ward result sheets, and
also prevented the collation officers from
completing their collations.
''In my own community, we had APC people
who wanted to open an office, I told the
commissioner of police to protect them, they
must hang that flag – it's their right. Nobody
was assaulted.
''Unlike Ekeremor, where a man who is not
even candidate looks down on his community so
much, thinks they're his slaves and says 'you
will not vote'. Not even for his party, 'you will
not vote at all'.
''I got copied a letter written by the CDC
chairman of Ekeremor community, the minister’s
community, where it is directed to the president.
Drawing the president's attention to what the
minister is doing, terrorising the community with
soldiers and police and SSS and so on. So that
nobody would go there to vote. Himself, his
younger ones are all carrying arms.
''As the CSO, I'm alive to my responsibilities in
this state. “This idea of changing people
anytime they don’t do the wishes of a person or
party – you’re destroying institutions. This is the
third time they have changed the commissioner
of police in Bayelsa, since this race started.
''They brought in Paul Okafor, brought in Nasir
Oki, nominated by Timipre Sylva, now I hear
Timipre Sylva says the man they brought here
as commissioner of police didn't do his bidding
by killing enough people, didn't do his bidding by
arresting innocent party supporters and those
who are not supporting him. I hear that by
today or tomorrow, the new commissioner of
police, nominated by him and his party would
arrive here.
''They are celebrating victory of evil over good,
victory of criminality over legality. This election
has been won, they are only desperate and day
dreaming, they are trying to get from the
backdoor, what they couldn’t get from the front
door.
All the votes from Southern Ijaw are for me. ''I
have raised some of these issues even with the
president. Critical issues of national securities. I
believe Mr President assurances. Mr President
was very gracious, I am grateful to him for
granting me audience. I have his assurances
that things would happen differently.''