…Blasts PDP on alleged defection of APC members
From: Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The All Progressive Congress (APC) has denied involvement in a breach of security in Bayelsa State.
The party said it would neither encourage nor sponsor violence in any part of the state to destabilise the state.
Chairman of the party in Bayelsa State, Mr. Joseph Fafi, in a swift reaction to the allegation by Governor Henry Seriake Dickson that the APC members in the state were stock-piling arms and using the name of President Muhammadu Buhari to intimidate Bayelsans, said there was no truth in the allegation.
Fafi, who advised Governor Dickson to avoid utterances that could heat up the polity, also challenged the governor to name the APC members involved in violence or those stock-piling arms.
Said he, “I call on Governor Henry Dickson, who is the Chief Security Officer in the state, to avoid utterances that will heat up the polity. The APC in the state cannot support or encourage violence in the state. I ask challenge the Governor to name any individual APC member involved in any criminal act.”
Fafi also claimed that the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) started the New Year with ‘lies and deceit’ on the defection of 7,000 members of the party including Mr. Jackson Suokiri to the PDP in Kolokuma/Opokuma local government area.
The APC chairman said the falsehood being peddled by PDP is an indication of the growing frustration within the ranks of the PDP especially since its plan to promote crisis in the APC has failed.
He continued, “The APC in the state has become more formidable and a big threat to the PDP. On the issue of the 7,000 defectors, the total votes received by PDP during the 2015 governorship election were a little over 7,000 while the APC scored over 6,000 votes.
“It is, therefore, surprising how and where Jackson got 7,000 APC members from KOLGA alone to decamp with him. We call on the PDP to play politics with character and truthfulness.
“It is outrageous lies like this that keep decent people away from politics. For the avoidance of doubt Jackson only decamped with members of his immediate family in the presence of other PDP supporters. APC in Bayelsa State is not losing sleep over Jackson’s defection as we are sure he will be back to APC before the next elections in the state.”