November 1 Guber Election Not A Contest Of Gun, Gov. Diri Warns Politicians

Gov. Douye Diri of Bayelsa has asked politicians in the state not to prepare for violence in the Nov. 11 governorship election, saying the poll is about votes and not guns.

The governor spoke during the 25th State Security Council meeting in Government House, Yenagoa, on Friday.

He warned politicians not to resort to mayhem and violence, as it would not be tolerated.

Diri also spoke on a recent concern expressed by Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, that incumbent governors were preventing the opposition from using public facilities in some states.

He said that his administration would ensure a level field for all parties, and the opposition in the state would not be arm-twisted.

Diri urged the security agencies to be alert to forestall any act of violence ahead of the election.

He said: “In Bayelsa, I assure my opponents that we are not going to arm-twist anyone. In the same vein, no opponent should threaten mayhem and violence.

“This government has the capacity to contain them if anybody dares us.

“We want a Bayelsa State, which is the centre and Jerusalem of all Ijaws, to play that role of not only tolerating ourselves but also visitors who come here to contribute to the growth and the development of this state.

“So, I again call on all our security agencies to be alert as we move towards the Nov. 11 contest. It is a contest of votes and not of guns. It is a contest of ballots, not bullets.

”As the former president succinctly said that his office was not worth the blood of any Nigerian, I believe in that and I stand by those words,” he said.

The state Commissioner of Police, Tolani Alausa, told journalists after the meeting that the council resolved that a joint task force to checkmate criminal activities preparatory to the governorship election, particularly in the Nembe axis, would be set up soon.

Alausa noted that the task force would comprise the military, police, Department of State Security, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other key security agencies, to be headed by the police commissioner.

He also disclosed that the council approved the setting up of a task force to clamp down on unapproved tinted vehicles used to perpetrate crime in and around the state capital.