Bayelsa: INEC declares winner today

At some minutes after 2am on Sunday (today) the collation exercise of the rerun governorship election in Bayelsa State was abruptly adjourned to reconvene at 11am.

Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson

This was after the results of the poll in four of the local governments were announced. The Independent National Electoral Commission Returning Officer, Mr. Zana Akpagu, adjourned the exercise which was taking place at the Yenagoa Local Government Area Headquarters.

In the declared results, the All Progressives Congress scored 448 votes in Yenagoa LGA while the Peoples Democratic Party polled 839. In Brass LGA, APC had 1,679 and the PDP got 5. In Sagbama LGA, APC scored 119 , PDP, 180 while APC had 139 in Ogbia LGA with PDP polling 1,290 votes.

During the announcement, there was mild drama when the PDP agent at Brass LGA, Fred Agbedi, protested against the result calling for its cancellation.

The APC agent, Dennis Otitio, who was evidently agitated stood up and started talking to the audience without permission from Akpagu.

Akpagu was displeased with the APC agent and threatened to send him out of the hall.

As of 9.45pm on Saturday, it was noticed that results were being brought by returning officers to the state headquarters of the commission.

Meanwhile, no fewer than 12 persons suspected to be militants and security agents were feared killed during the rescheduled election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area and other polling units across the state.

It was learnt that the 12 included four policemen, two soldiers and six civilians alleged to be militants from the neighbouring Delta State.

It was further learnt that the deaths stemmed from shootings in some LGAs in the state, including Nembe and Ekeremor.

Shootings were said to have started in some parts of the state in the early morning of Saturday, the day of the rerun.

A resident of Ekeremor, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said some militants attacked Ekeremor, the hometown of the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, twice.

The source said the first attack, which was carried out by some militants suspected to be from Delta State was around 1am, while the second attack took place around 3am.

Investigations showed that the attacks, which were aimed at making it impossible for election to be held in the polling units with 13,000 voters’, were repelled by security agents.

Also, as a result of sporadic shootings in Southern Ijaw, two persons were said to have received gunshot wounds in Agoibiri area.

An unconfirmed number of casualties was recorded after the shootings.

The corpses of the dead bodies, numbering seven, were said to have been deposited in Oboro community in Bomadi area of Delta State.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Bayelsa State Command, Mr. Asinim Butswat, said he had yet to be briefed on the incidents.

He, however, promised to confirm the incident, saying he only heard that some hoodlums snatched electoral materials in Ogbia and that the police had intensified efforts to recover them.

As of the time of going to press, the spokesman had yet to respond to the death claims as well as the effort by the police on the snatched materials.

Some members of Governor Seriake Dickson’s campaign team, the Restoration Campaign Organisation, confirmed that there were shootings and killings in Ekeremor on Saturday.

They claimed that because of the development, election could not be held in nine units in Ekeremor.

They further claimed that in the Amassoma area of Southern Ijaw, elections were only held in some units, while others could not get election materials because of widespread violence.

In Brass, they claimed that election materials did not get to some units, including Akassa area.

The Dickson loyalists also alleged that there were heavy shootings and attacks of the Peoples Democratic Party members in Bassambiri area of Nembe.

According to them, a prominent ex-militant leader and his supporters also hijacked election materials in Peremabiri

They also alleged that in Ward 4 of Southern Ijaw, election materials for units 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29 were hijacked by political thugs.

The campaign spokesman for Dickson, Mr. Jonathan Obuebite, alleged that from what transpired during the supplementary election, the security agencies had failed the people of Bayelsa.

He said widespread violence occurred across the LGAs that participated in the exercise despite the assurances from President Muhammadu Buhari that security agencies would live up to the expectations of the people.

He said with what happened in the rescheduled poll, Dickson had been vindicated that the security agencies were not ready to provide the enabling environment for all the political parties to operate.

Speaking on the supplementary poll, the campaign team of the APC candidate, Mr. Timipre Sylva, dismissed the claim that the Presidency had any hand in the poll.

The spokesman, Sylva-Igiri Campaign Organisation, Mr. Nathan Egba, said, “Our attention has been drawn to a sponsored media report that the Presidency has issued a directive to the Independent National Electoral Commission to declare Sylva winner of the election.

“The Sylva-Igiri Campaign Organisation wishes to sound it clear once again that President Muhammadu Buhari is not influencing the result of the election in favour of our candidate, having remained neutral from the beginning of the process.

“The report linking the Presidency to the Bayelsa election was misplaced and mischievous. The APC was shocked at such claims coming from the PDP at a time election was ongoing in the various polling units in the entire Southern Ijaw LGA and some units in six other local government areas of the state.”

Egba said the statement from the opposition giving victory to the APC in the poll is an admittance of imminent defeat on their part as they must have sensed from the reports coming from the field.

He advised Dickson to learn from the experience of the last presidential election and stop his “brand of propaganda that had not taken him far since the election process began months back.”

The PDP, however, praised the people of Southern Ijaw and others in the remaining 101 units where the rerun took place for their steadfastness in the face of intimidation.

The Director of Publicity, Restoration Campaign Organisation, Jonathan Obuebite, in a statement, expressed joy that the PDP was cruising to victory in the rerun.

Obuebite said, “I want to appreciate the people of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area and those in the other 101 polling units, as they listened to our call that they must not allow anybody to intimidate them as they step out to exercise their civic responsibilities.”

The rerun in Southern Ijaw and over 100 polling units across six LGAs in the state was not without some hiccups.

There were reported shootings, ballot boxes snatching and hijack of election materials, as well as late accreditation.

In Amassoma in Southern Ijaw, Ward 10, units 21 to 26, materials were not available as of 11.30am.

Heavy shootings also frustrated movement of materials from Amatoru Community Secondary School to units in the ward.

In Tara Kiwi community in Amassoma, the hometown of late former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, the turnout of voters was high and accreditation was going on as of 11.50am.

In Amatolo community, still in Southern Ijaw, there were sporadic shootings and the development prevented INEC from moving election materials to the area as of 12 noon.

In Ward 1, Agoibiri in Southern Ijaw, there was sporadic shooting and two persons were reportedly wounded by stray bullets.

The development was said to have angered some of the youths in the area, who destroyed election materials.

Bayelsa: INEC declares winner today

Buhari wants to imprison Jonathan – N’Delta group

A civil rights organisation, Vanguards of Nigeria’s Democracy, on Saturday raised the alarm over clandestine moves by President Muhammadu Buhari to “investigate, malign and imprison” former President Goodluck Jonathan on trumped-up charges.

The VND specifically accused the President and his All Progressives Congress-led administration of “unsavoury and patently repugnant action,” which it said, were anti-Niger Delta and against the Ijaw ethnic nationality.

The group believed Jonathan was the target of the controversy surrounding some alleged missing funds from the nation’s treasury during the tenure of the immediate past administration.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, wondered why people would dwell on speculations when nothing concrete had been established against Jonathan.

He said, “All these are speculations and I cannot react to speculations because there is nothing concrete yet against the former President.”

The spokesperson of VND, Mr. Osaghae Ogiemudia, in a statement in Abuja on Saturday, claimed that anti-Niger Delta and anti-Ijaw posturing of the APC government of Buhari had been demonstrated in several ways.

According to him, all Niger-Deltans, especially those from the Ijaw ethnic nationality, should support and rally round Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson, “the only Ijaw governor.”

He said, “We, the members of the Vanguards of Nigeria’s Democracy, are aware of some clandestine moves made by the APC-led government to probe, investigate, malign and imprison ex President Jonathan. We are already aware of the trumped-up charges the APC government is leveling against a man who has diligently served the Nigerian state at the highest level of government.

“The APC led government should take notice that the appointments made so far are skewed in favour of the North, as no Ijaw man has been appointed. While an Ijaw President did not discriminate in appointment, President Buhari is implementing a Northern agenda through some of the appointments.”

Buhari wants to imprison Jonathan – N’Delta group

Bayelsa Gubernatorial Race: Coalition mounts pressure on Sylva

A coalition of under the aegis of Niger Delta People’s Movement (NDPM) has urged the people of Bayelsa State to base their choice of the next governor of the state on the core attributes of competence, integrity, courage, initiative and focus.

Timipre Sylva

In a meeting held on Friday in Yenagoa to discuss the political future of the state and to assess the physical, social and institutional infrastructural provisions in the state, the group vowed to put stop to square pegs in round holes in leadership positions in the state.

The group also extolled the uncommon virtues of Chief Timipre Sylva, describing him as pragmatic and winsome.

“Sylva is suitable for the governorship job. He has devoted his life to humanitarian and philanthropic services. He has provided employment opportunities for the people, especially the youths. He has been one of the most supportive and committed leaders of the APC in the country”.

Spokesperson of the movement, Mrs. Ibifuro Thompson Tatua said Sylva would galvanize the people to self-development, energize the economy and also raise the standard of living of the people through adequate

inter-village communication such as good road network, electricity, pipe-borne water, recreational facilities, etc.

The groups also said Sylva would stimulate rural industries and show the necessary leadership by matching words with action through evolving workable development approaches, proper co-ordination and funding.

“Sylva has strategies to banish unemployment and insecurity. His government will bring about sustainable development and progress” the group said.

Over 1,000 members from Brass, Ekeremor, Kolokuma/Opokuma, Nembe, Ogbia, Sagbama, Southern Ijaw and Yenagoa councils stormed the venue in representative capacity.

Meanwhile, notable personalities in Bayelsa State, including leaders of ethnic and youth groups, political parties, former council chairmen and past political appointees on Friday looked at those who have announced, directly or by implication, their intention to contest the Saturday, December 5, 2015 governorship election, and those whose

names have been put forward, with or without their public confirmation, as prospective candidates for the state’s number one seat, describing the former governor of the state, Chief Timipre Sylva as ‘the best person for the job”.

“Chief Timipre Sylva stands out of the pack of pretenders, traders and contenders. He is a consummate politician, proven administrator, a bridge builder, dogged fighter, grassroots mobiliser and crowd puller”.” the leaders said.

At a meeting in Yenagoa, the leaders urged the people of the state to embrace politics anchored on qualities like credibility, competence and ability to perform and deliver the dividend of democracy to the people.

“Bayelsa State needs a well-focused manager who has the interest of the state at heart; someone who is administratively skillful; someone who will deliver. Timipre Sylva possesses the ability, courage, sincerity and guiding philosophy to provide the right leadership for the betterment of the people. He is a stickler for hard work and excellence”.

In a statement issued in Yenagoa by the spokesperson of Bayelsa Political Congress (BPC), Comrade Nicholas Benjamin, the leaders said “We are solidly behind Sylva. We shall mobilize our people and give him an overwhelming electoral support.

Bayelsans, they further charged, should ensure that Sylva becomes the next governor of the state.

“If the succession is about lifting the state and the people to the greatest heights, then Bayelsans have the answer in Sylva. He has the requisite appeal and political structure to clinch the governorship ticket of the APC. He has vision, moral fortitude, zeal, leadership, commitment and love for all” the statement said.

They advised the people to rally round Sylva for a better Bayelsa State “This is another opportunity to redefine and redesign our future in a direction that would strengthen the bond of unity, foster the spirit of oneness, enhance development and promote good governance” he added.

Bayelsa Gubernatorial Race: Coalition mounts pressure on Sylva

Jonathan, others in long trek, promises special sports fund

President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday promised to institute a special fund for the sports sector if re-elected for a second term on March 28.

Sportsmen with Jonathan

Jonathan made the promise while addressing sportsmen and others at a solidarity rally organised for him at the Eagle Square, Abuja.

The event put together by a Non-Governmental Organisation, Desire for Greatness Foundation, saw the President walking from the Presidential Villa, Abuja to the venue.

He was joined in the long walk by Vice President Namadi Sambo and President of the Senate, David Mark, among other top government officials and presidential aides.

The President said the special fund would serve as stop gap for training of the nation’s sportsmen before their budgets are approved.

He added that the fund would also be used to bring succour to sports who have brought glory to the nation but suddenly found themselves in need.

He said, “To strengthen sporting activities in Nigeria further, there are some areas that we need to look into and I promise that when we come back, we are going to set up a special fund that will handle these special areas.

“I have identified about five areas that we must look at. I realised that sometimes when we have major tournaments, because of government budgeting and files movement, training periods are delayed. We want to make sure that we stop that by setting up a special fund that can serve as a stop gap.

“One other thing I realised from our interactions with sportsmen and women from my days in Bayelsa State to the centre here is that some of them want special training programmes that their federation cannot fund and they won’t have money to do that. We must stop that.

“Some other ones want to improve their professional career. Because they are so committed to sports, they may not go to university at the time they should have gone. So when they want to go, they may not have the money. We must have fund for that.

“Another area is that some of them get injured and can no longer participate and sometimes, they are left on their own. We must get some funds to take care of such people.

“Another one that I have identified is that some people have made this country proud. Sport is one key thing that brings unity to this country. Whenever our sportsmen are playing, we don’t discriminate.

“We must set up fund to make sure that nobody who had made this country proud will be a beggar.”

Jonathan also promised that his administration would strengthen sports institutions such as the National Sports Institute in Lagos, and the Centre of Excellence here in Abuja.

He said in developing the institutions, his government would not depend on annual budget with its yearly change in benchmark.

He said the management of the fund would be in the hands of the private sector so that it would continue to grow and take care of all the areas that he had identified.

The President said his government would continue to budget for fund but the intervention fund was needed to complement what government budgets annually.

“That will give us the opportunity to take care of these areas that we have identified. My conviction is that when these areas are properly handled, Nigeria will begin to dominate sporting activities globally,” he concluded.

Sambo, in his short remarks, said Nigeria could not afford to be governed by a 73-year-old President.

He was referring to the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

“I don’t think this country deserves a 73-year-old President. Jonathan should carry go,” the Vice President declared.

He aligned with the position of Mark who had earlier called on the people to ensure that they collect their Permanent Voters Card to enable them vote massively for the President during the election.

Others who spoke included the Minister of Sports, Tamino Danagogo; Director-General, National Sports Commission, Gbenga Elegbeleye; football stars, Augustine Eguavoen and Joseph Yobo as well as Mary Onyali.

They all lauded the support the present administration had been giving to the sports sector, urging Nigerians to give Jonathan the opportunity of consolidating on his achievement by voting for him.

Jonathan and his men started the long walk from the gate of his official residence inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja at about 7.15am.

Jonathan, others in long trek, promises special sports fund

Navy arrests 13 suspected oil thieves, intercepts vessel

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The Nigerian Navy, Central Naval Command, with headquarters in Bayelsa State, has arrested 13 suspected oil thieves and intercepted vessel laden with stolen crude oil.

The suspects and the illegal vessel, christened MT REDEMPTION, were apprehended at Middleton and Peddington area of Brass, Bayelsa State, off the Atlantic Ocean.

The suspects were paraded at the command’s Forward Operating Base (FOB Formoso) at Egwema, Brass, Bayelsa State, on Wednesday.

The suspects and the vessel were subsequently handed over to the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for further investigation and prosecution.

Shedding light on the development, Flag Officer Commanding, Central Naval Command, Rear Admiral Stanley Ogoigbe, said the gigantic oil vessel aboard 11 suspected oil thieves were arrested on January 20, 2015.

The FOC said the vessel, MT REDEMPTION, was intercepted by his men on patrol and upon interrogation, it was revealed that the vessel had no cogent reasons to be around the area she was found.

Ogoigbe said, “When the patrol team searched the vessel, it was discovered that some tanks including drums kept on the main deck were laden with products suspected to be crude oil approximately 100,000 litres.

“The captain of the vessel claimed that the contents of the tanks and drums were bitumen but were confirmed to be crude oil after the product was taken to Nigeria Agip Oil Company for laboratory test.

“The crew of MT REDEMPTION could neither disclose the source of the product nor present any valid documents authorising the vessel to lift crude oil.

“Preliminary investigation by his operatives revealed that MT REDEMPTION was owned by one Alhaji Omar Suleiman, who is the owner of Omar Oil Agency Ltd at Tema, Ghana, while the agents of the company in Nigeria are Mr. Niyi Akimosho and Mr. Addisson a Ghanaian who allegedly assist the owner in recruiting crew members.”

According to him, members of the crew were the captain, Chief Engneer and 11 others.

He assured Nigerians that the CNC under his watch would bring oil theft to zero level in the area of their responsibility.

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Navy arrests 13 suspected oil thieves, intercepts vessel

Jonathan may lose Bayelsa as PDP crisis deepens

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• Suspended chairman blames Dickson  

President Goodluck Jonathan risks losing his home state to the opposition in the forthcoming elections except the feud in Bayelsa State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is resolved, indications emerged yesterday.

President Goodluck Jonathan

The crisis rocking the party assumed dangerous dimension at the weekend following suspension of the party chairman, Col. Sam Inokoba (retd), over allegations that he diverted N70million donated to the                  PDP by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke.

But the chairman denied wrong doing in distributing the largesse.

He rather blamed his travails on the second term ambition of Governor Seriake Dickson.

Inokoba was said to have claimed that his refusal to sack some loyal members of the party as directed by the governor was responsible for his travails.

He specifically claimed the governor ordered him to suspend party members accused of belonging to the camp of the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan.

The deepening crisis in the party originated from the reported ambition of the First Lady to oust Dickson and replace him with her preferred choice.

The First Lady was said to have hijacked the state chapter of the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) as a platform to carry out activities aimed at actualising her ambition.

To fight back, the governor has been weeding off persons believed to be loyal to the First Lady in his cabinet.

Though Jonathan had declared those against the governor his enemies, it was gathered that the inability of the president to call his wife to order had fuelled the party’s impasse.

A source from the party said the president risks protest votes in the forthcoming elections unless he takes practical steps to end the imbroglio.

The source, who spoke in confidence, said the supporters of Dickson were not happy with the excesses of Jonathan’s wife and her plots against the governor.

“We have never seen this kind of scenario before. The governor is working to give Mrs. Jonathan and her husband a second term while the First Lady is working to deny Dickson a second term or even sack him before the end of his tenure.

“The governor is working to maintain peace in the state and to ensure that the President is not disgraced at home while Mrs. Jonathan is turning the entire state against the governor. There must be protest votes if these things continue,” he said.

Also, Ijaw youths from the state argued that the suspension of the chairman was ill-timed and capable of affecting the chances of the President at the poll.

The Youths, drawn from the eight local government areas in the state, said the allegations of financial impropriety against the chairman were diversionary.

The youths under the aegis of Niger Delta United for Jonathan (NDUJ) said it was unfortunate that the president and Allison-Madueke were being dragged into the financial scandal.

NDUJ, in a statement in Yenagoa signed by its Secretary, Azibaayam Iborisi, and Public Relations Officer, Ebimiewei Timi, insisted that the decision of the State Executive Committee (SEC) was questionable.

The statement said: “It is particularly worrisome that those orchestrating the crisis behind the scene have decided to drag the good name of the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, and the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deziani Allison-Madueke, into the crisis of confidence between the state governor and the presidency.

“Considering that the said rally was meant to galvanise the home base of President Goodluck Jonathan, the idea of igniting a controversy over a donation less than a week after the rally is clearly a deliberate act of sabotage and a disservice to the people of the state.

“It is, however, instructive that while those claiming to have suspended the chairman are alleging sharp practices with the said donation, the embattled chairman claims his woes are as a result of his refusal to do Governor Seriake Dickson’s bidding to suspend certain highly placed party men, perceived to be loyal to Mrs. Patience Jonathan from the PDP at the state level for alleged anti-party.

“The question is why the hurry to suspend the chairman, knowing fully well that it is less than five weeks to the presidential election and the party needs to keep a united front, a call Mr. President himself made in his speech at the rally.”

The group added: “We are convinced that it is a deliberate ploy to drag innocent and respectable Bayelsans into the fray, considering that the many attempts at maligning the first Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has not yielded the desired results.

“We therefore advise the Bayelsa PDP SEC members and their sponsor, Governor Seriake Dickson, to desist from further calling the innocent woman’s name in his bid to bring on board a pliable man as party chairman and also tender a public apology to the Honourable Minister for their indiscretion.”

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Jonathan may lose Bayelsa as PDP crisis deepens

Wife stabs lawyer husband to death in Bayelsa

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Tragedy struck at Akenfa, a suburb of Yenagoa metropolis, Bayelsa State, on Thursday, following the stabbing to death of a lawyer, Mr. Henry Gagariga, by his wife, Victoria.

It was learnt that the 28-year-old Victoria, killed Gagariga, 33, at their residence on Ebisam Road in Akenfa area of the state.

Victoria was said to have stabbed him on the neck with a kitchen knife following a bitter quarrel over “a minor domestic issue” in the early hours of Thursday.

Sources said they had co-habited for some years before legalising their union in Yenagoa in June 2014, although the union had yet to produce any children.

Gagariga was said to have given up the ghost at a hospital where he was rushed to after losing a lot of blood.

His corpse, it was further learnt, had been deposited at an undisclosed morgue in the state.

Victoria, said to be a daughter of a retired director in the state Ministry of Information from Brass Local Government Area, is said to be an employee of the Bayelsa State Council for Arts and Culture.

Her husband Henry Gagariga was an indigene of Sagbama Local Government Area, also in the state.

When contacted, Police Public Relations Officer, Bayelsa State Command, Mr. Asinim Butswat, confirmed the incident.

“We will commence investigation to unravel the cause of death,” he said.

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Wife stabs lawyer husband to death in Bayelsa

Governor Dickson bars pro-Jonathan group, TAN, from Bayelsa

Governor Seriake Dickson on Friday ordered the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria, TAN, to leave the state and cease campaigning for President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election, in what appears a battle between Mr. Dickson and loyalists of the president’s wife who are in charge of the organization in Bayelsa State.

TAN rally collapse in Minna

The decision appears a fallout of deteriorating relations between the governor and Mrs. Jonathan.

Mrs. Jonathan had earlier resigned from her position as permanent secretary in the Bayelsa State civil service.

Last week, Governor Dickson fired three loyalists of the first lady from his cabinet, accusing them of disloyalty.

The governor however denies any rift between him and the First Lady.

In a press statement Friday signed by the governor’s spokesperson, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, Mr. Dickson directed the leadership of the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria, TAN, to immediately leave Bayelsa State.

The group had for several months staged massive rallies in support of Mr. Jonathan long before the formal kick-off of electioneering in the country. At the time, the group claimed it was campaigning to convince Mr. Jonathan to seek re-election.

But in a fresh twist in relations between the governor and the wife of the president, whose loyalists are said to be in control of TAN in the state, Mr. Dickson accused the group of promoting subversive activities and inciting crisis and divisions within the PDP in the State.

Mr. Dickson, who gave the warning at a meeting with the Peoples Democratic Party’s  flag bearers for February general elections at the party’s secretariat in Yenagoa, said he is responsible for directing campaigns for Mr. Jonathan in the state.

He described the PDP in the state as the only recognized political platform and structure saddled with the responsibility of leading the president’s campaign in the state with him as party leader.

Mr. Dickson said the activities of TAN have outlived their usefulness.

The governor also alleged that TAN and some members of its top hierarchy have become tools of subversion, creating needless rancour, acrimony and divisions, stressing that the government and the PDP in the State will no longer tolerate their actions.

He noted that the activities of TAN and the other groups, if not checked, could be counterproductive, especially with the presidential and other elections, only a few weeks away.

He said that he has the mandate of Bayelsa people to protect the stability, peace and security of the State.

The governor, who announced the planned visit of Mr. Jonathan to the state, said he would use the opportunity on February 5 to express appreciation to Nigerians for their unwavering support and solidarity to the Jonathan administration.

He also noted that the state is set and that the people are now fully mobilized to accord the President a rousing reception for the mega rally that would be organized in his honour.

The governor emphasized that Bayelsa State is a stronghold of the PDP and a strong support base for President Jonathan, whom he noted, does not need to campaign in his home state.

An unnamed official of TAN, who was contacted for comments, described the allegations as “wild and unfounded” adding that TAN had noted three unprovoked attacks on the organizations.

He said that the organization will deliberate and issue a statement in response to the comments by the governor.

“It is very primitive of someone who claims to be working for the President to try to attack an organization build to promote the candidacy of the same President, this development has exposed the workings of his mind,” the TAN official said.

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Governor Dickson bars pro-Jonathan group, TAN, from Bayelsa