Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed as habitual deception and mudslinging an allegation by Governor Seriake Dickson that the party was about to form “a government of criminals and cultists” in the state.
Dickson had on Monday in Yenagoa at the inauguration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship election campaign office accused APC governorship candidate, Chief David Lyon of planning to form a government of criminals, cultists and militants.
But in a statement on Wednesday in Yenagoa, the state chapter of APC dismissed the claim as “Dickson’s normal, customary and habitual trickery, meant to hide his nervousness by defaming the opponent, when jittery and faced with tough political opposition.”
The statement signed by APC’s State Publicity Secretary and Secretary of the Media and Publicity Committee of the 2019 Governorship Campaign Council, Mr. Doifie Buokoribo, said Dickson’s deception machine has essentially ran on creating falsehood around formidable opponents as a ploy to justify intended poll rigging and violence.
He said the strategy has always been to identify intimidating rivals they cannot stand in a fair poll, cast mud at them, and then activate an electoral manipulation process, using thugs, corrupt officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and some dishonest security personnel.
He declared that “the immoral scheme” had worked for Dickson in the past, but it will never work again because “we know it as a matter of fact that Governor Dickson has converted the Bayelsa State Government House into a den of thieves”.