Bayelsa guber: Accept defeat, stop heating up polity, APC advises Dickson

All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa has urged Governor Seriake Dickson to stop threatening the state and trying to raise tension following the electoral defeat of his preferred candidate.

The party advised Dickson to toe the path of democracy and rule of law by taking his grievances to the court.
Mr Doifie Buokoribo, state publicity secretary of APC, expressed the party’s position in a statement issued in Yenagoa on Sunday.

The APC spokesman said the call was premised on repeated allegations by Dickson after the loss of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Douye Diri, at the November 16 governorship election in the state.

According to him, Diri had lost to the APC candidate, Chief David Lyon, who won with over 70 per cent of the votes and who defeated his opponent in six of the eight local government areas of the state.

The statement read in part: “In the last few weeks, since the overwhelming victory of our candidate at the November 16 governorship election, Chief David Lyon, Governor Dickson has inundated the state and the country with wild allegations and inciting comments.

“He has screamed blue murder at all relevant institutions of the state, from the electoral body to security agencies, and the winning APC.

“And he has absolved only himself and his section of the PDP of blame.

“From his furious mind, Dickson has issued threats to the electorate in Bayelsa and APC members, particularly, and he has boasted about his capacity to unleash violence and turn the state upside down.

“Dickson has displayed everything but the commitment to democratic ideals and legal processes of electoral conflict resolution.

“We, however, unequivocally state and also remind Dickson that the elections have been concluded and the governor-elect, Chief David Lyon, is only waiting to be sworn into office as the next governor of Bayelsa.

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“And for those who feel aggrieved, like Dickson, there are constitutionally prescribed processes open to them to follow in trying to redress their grievances.

“Disparaging the institutions of state and inciting the public to violence are certainly not among the processes.

“Dickson is not a court of law. He should stop holding court on the governorship election. He cannot be the plaintiff and judge in a case in which he is an interested party. If he has grievances, the place to go is the electoral tribunal.

“Dickson is also not Bayelsa, and he cannot claim to be voicing the opinion of the people who have overwhelmingly spoken with their votes against his nearly eight years of misrule and mistreatment.

“The people of Bayelsa spoke on November 16 across political boundaries and the message was clear. Dickson must respect the voice of the people.”

Dickson had at a news conference after the election result was announced accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of colluding with APC and security agencies to thwart the will of the people.

Dickson had alleged that what happened on November 16, 2019, was not an election but a ‘coup’ against the Bayelsa people.