PDP to APC: Don’t heat up polity, set South South on fire over Bayelsa

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has cautioned the All Progressives Congress (APC) against heating up the polity and embarking on clandestine moves that would set the South South region on fire over the Bayelsa state governorship tussle.

The Supreme Court had on February 13, 2020, sacked David Lyon of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as governor-elect of Bayelsa State, barely 24 hours to his inauguration and ordered the swearing-in of the candidate of the PDP, Douye Diri.

A five-member panel of the apex court led by Justice Mary Odili nullified the election of Mr Lyon on the grounds that his deputy, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, allegedly presented false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in aid of his qualification for the November 16 governorship election in the state.

But the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus in a statement on Saturday, alleged that the APC was relying on “unorthodox means to snatch” Bayelsa governorship seat from the PDP.

‘‘The APC is employing many tactics to get what they have lost back. They are busy addressing press conferences. They have refused to ask their candidate questions on why he is bearing many names in his certificates.

‘‘How does a person bears three different names at three different occasions? You answer a name in primary school, dropped it while writing WAEC and took up another name in the university?

‘‘In a sane clime, the party would first of all invite the aspirant, question him, scold him for bringing the name of the party into disrepute and condemn him.

‘‘What else do you do? You then invite the security agencies to probe him or even take him to court to show to the world that you are not fighting corruption by the words of mouth or persecution of the opposition members alone, but by using the big stick against the offending members of your party.

“We want to warn the APC not to set the Niger Delta region on fire with its actions and clandestine moves on Bayelsa. The state had always been a PDP state, including the entire region of South-South.

‘‘They should not use any other means on Bayelsa State. We relied on the law and their Lordships have spoken. They should allow the sleeping dog lie,” Secondus said.