Ballot box’ll determine next gov –Sylva

TIMIPRE Syllva Cam­paign Organization has challenged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to be prepared to face it at the ballot on December 5 to choose the next governor of Bayelsa State.

A group, Mangrove Boys of Bayelsa (MBB) had threatened to stage a 10,000-man march against the emergence of former governor, Timipre Sylva, as the candidate of the All Pro­gressives Congress (APC).

The group, in a state­ment by Bennard Legite, alleged that Sylva’s poor performance in office and human rights record as well as his anti-people policies had rendered him ineligible to be the next governor of the State.

However, the campaign organization accused the PDP of planning to cause mayhem through the spon­sorship of anti-APC demon­strations through the Man­grove Boys.

In a statement issued in Yenagoa by Mr. Doifie Buo­koribo, the organization de­scribed the planned protest as another manifestation of fear and frustration, which PDP had displayed since Sylva emerged the APC candidate.

It urged that the PDP should be held responsible for any breakdown of law and order that could ema­nate from the protest.

The statement read in part: “PDP has recruited a shadowy group of thugs named the Mangrove Boys of Bayelsa, which they in­tend to use to create may­hem in the State in the guise of an anti-Sylva protest. The sponsors of this violence should be held directly re­sponsible by the Nigeria Police and other national security forces for any breakdown of law and order in the State as the good and peaceful people of Bayelsa go towards the election on December 5 to choose a new governor.

“We recall that this same group, ‘Mangrove Boys of Bayelsa’, had in the thick of the 2015 presidential cam­paign, serially threatened the wife of the former presi­dent, Mrs. Patience Jona­than. They even warned her not to visit Bayelsa for the PDP presidential rally, ac­cusing her of using the State chapter of the Transforma­tion Ambassadors of Nige­ria to undermine governor Dickson. Now that Mrs. Jonathan and Dickson claim to have settled, the Man­grove Boys of Bayelsa and their principal have found a new enemy in Sylva.

“In a way, we agree that the coming election is about Sylva. The election is about the birthing of a prosper­ous Bayelsa through Sylva, or the negation of progress through opposition to his candidacy. Dickson and his few cohorts may choose to negate progress, but they must keep that choice within the confines of their negative media campaign – which does not perturb Sylva and the vast majority of the Bayelsa electorate – and wait till 5 December to say their minds through the ballot box.

“APC has chosen its can­didate as constitutionally prescribed and it is not the place of PDP to question that choice. The only law­ful avenue of opposition to the APC choice is the ballot box. Dickson must accept the reality of the ballot box, as the ungodly syndicate that brought him to power in 2012 has become his­tory.”