Resist Temptations to Interfere in Bayelsa Guber Poll, Professionals Tell Tinubu

Alex Enumah in Abuja

A group of professionals in Bayelsa State has advised President Bola Tinubu to resist the temptation of interfering with the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

The advised was predicated on the need for the new administration to provide a level playing ground for all contestants and by so doing advance democracy in the country.

The group under the aegis of Network of Bayelsa Professionals (NBP), while urging Tinubu to be neutral in the November 11, governorship election, decried alleged plans to rig the poll in favour of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Timipre Sylva through the deployment of the military.

Some chieftains of the APC in the state made the claim in a viral video on social media after last week’s meeting between Tinubu and Sylva at the Presidential villa.

Responding, the NBP, in a statement said if the claims are true, President Tinubu would  be subverting democracy and setting the state up for chaos.

The group in a statement released in Abuja and signed by their Spokesman, Mr. Deinmobofa Tantua urged the president not to undermine the tenets of democracy by using the military for a civil exercise which may lead to fatalities.

They also pleaded with President Tinubu to know that the Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo elections will be the first under him and the entire world will be watching keenly to see how it will go.

The group said: “Tinubu should realise that he still has a burden hanging on his neck because of his emergence and should not double that burden but use the coming elections to begin to redeem himself.

“We therefore, call on the President to be mindful of those who want to use him to disrupt the peace and stability in the state because of their desperate ambition.

“Bayelsans are not preparing for war but election. The emphasis should be ballot and not bullets. PVC and not Ak-47 rifles. We have lost innocent people in the past because of the role played by some security agents in the past”.

While insisting that the election should not be used to turn the state into a theater of war, they also called on Tinubu to warn all the institutions responsible for the conduct of the election to allow the votes of the people to count and “not create tension and unnecessary panic before, during and after the election”.

The group added that Bayelsa is enjoying a peaceful atmosphere because of Governor Douye Diri’s level of political tolerance, maturity and disposition.

The NBP reaffirmed that with the satisfactory performance of Diri in the last few years, Bayelsans are willing to re-elect him especially as he remains the best choice among the contestants for the exalted office.