Bayelsa govt condemns violence, killings at APC congress

Sequel to the shooting that rocked the All Progressives Congress (APC) inauguration that claimed two lives, while several others sustained injuries, the Bayelsa State government has expressed serious concern over the situation.

Contained in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Hon. Jonathan Obuebite, and made available to journalists in Yenagoa, he described the recent incident as a serious breach of the existing peace in the state.

The statement recalled with regret that the APC had failed to conduct its affairs peacefully, since its inception in the state, pointing out that, the party’s very first governorship primaries leading up to the 2015 elections witnessed the unfortunate incident of a serving governor being held hostage.

According to the statement, the APC leadership and its supporters also unleashed terror and violence on law-abiding citizens of the state, especially in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, which equally led to the untimely death of some persons during the 2015 governorship polls.

Obuebite called on law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of the recent outbreak of violence during the party’s non elective congress in the state capital.

The statement called on the Federal Government and the national leadership of the APC to prevail on its officials in Bayelsa State, as their activities were becoming “disgraceful and highly embarrassing to the government and the law-abiding people of the state.

“It is a very sad commentary that the APC in Bayelsa State has turned itself to a lawless and violent organisation, where its leaders and supporters resort to violence at every slight provocation, even for internal matters of the party that ought to have been handled with maturity and reasonable level of understanding.”

The statement also lamented that it was obvious that the APC could no longer conduct its activities in the state without public fear and anarchy, noting that government invested so much to return security to the state and would not allow another wave of insecurity, under the guise of party meeting, in the state.