Dickson, Sylva Accuse Each Other of Inciting Brass Mayhem

Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa
Former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, and his successor, Mr Seriake Dickson, on Sunday accused each other of causing last week’s violence in Brass local government in which several persons were injured.

While Sylva said Dickson planned to destabilize Brass,  the community he (Sylva) hails from to score cheap political points, the governor urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) leader to desist from spreading propaganda.

 A statement by the Special Adviser on  Public Affairs to the governor,  Dan Alabrah, urged Sylva to stop using the name of the President to cover up his “criminal activities” in Bayelsa State.
He called on the security agencies to be firm in the performance of their statutory responsibility and not to allow “unscrupulous politicians” to take advantage of them.

 But Sylva, who said he had exercised severe restraint during the crisis since last week, noted that the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Brass Local Government Council had been given “the dirty job” to do.

 In a statement by his Media  Adviser, Doifie Buokoribo,  the former Governor maintained that as a precursor to the onslaught, just last Thursday, the council boss declared a curfew in the Island, a place he said had been peaceful.
“Clearly, these actions are meant to provoke Sylva. As a man of peace, the former governor has had to restrain his supporters from seeking self-help.

 “We call upon Dickson to leave Sylva alone. Since he is governor in the eyes of the law, let him govern Bayelsa State. Previous attempts by the forces of reaction, including Dickson, to bring Sylva down have failed.
“There is no doubt that this attempt too, will come to a cropper. Similarly, we call upon the security agencies to bring the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Brass Local Government Council to book for disturbing public peace and order”, the statement noted.
Sylva also alleged that he had unravelled a purported plan through “authoritative sources in the know and some of the persons planned for use in the execution of the devious plot”, to attack him in the media.

“Dickson is living in fear, the fear of Sylva. The governor finds it difficult to come to terms with the fact that despite his shenanigans and schizoid propaganda to diminish the former governor, Sylva’s political profile continues to rise and rise and rise”, he said.

However, the Bayelsa State Government in a reaction said Dickson was too busy with the execution of the mandate given to him by the people of Bayelsa State to join issues with politicians who have failed Bayelsa and the Ijaw Nation.

“This is a government that has the mandate to execute on behalf of the Bayelsa people. We cannot afford to be distracted by falsehood emanating from Sylva and his men.

“Sylva should stop encouraging criminality in Bayelsa; he should support stability and development of his state. We have worked hard to address the insecurity and underdevelopment that Sylva left behind.

“He is not even concerned that his local government area, Brass, has become a den of criminality. He should stop using the name of the President to intimidate security agencies to cover up his criminal activities”, Dickson said.

The statement noted that Sylva was spreading fake propaganda to create the wrong impression that he is popular in the state.

“We call on the leadership of the security at the national level to support what the state has been doing instead of using the President to intimidate people in matters that we believe the President is not aware“, the government said.