Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson, yesterday, tongue-lashed the Army for linking him with the political tension in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area during the December 6 rescheduled poll in the area.
The governor, through his campaign outfit, Restoration Campaign Organisation (RCO), said the Army was wrong to have exonerated itself from the violence that erupted in the area.
The Army, on Saturday, said it participated in the December 5 and 6 governorship election to support the police, secure materials and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as well as boost the confidence of the residents.
For the purpose of the election, the Army said it constituted a team code-named: Operation Safe Conduct (OSC), and operated within its constitutional mandate.
On behalf of OSC’s officers and men, the Commander of 2 Brigade, Brig.-Gen. Stevenson Olabanjo, noted that despite the presence of troops and other security agencies, some armed thugs attempted to disrupt the electoral process.
Olabanjo paraded arms and ammunition the troops allegedly seized from thugs.
The Army commander said some suspects arrested for the violence in Southern Ijaw on December 5 had been handed over to the police.
He noted that Dickson’s presence at Oporoma, the headquarters of Southern Ijaw, during the rescheduled election worsened the charged atmosphere in the area.
Dickson, who is Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) candidate, visited Oporoma on the day of the rescheduled poll.
Olabanjo said: “Unfortunately, the sudden appearance of one of the candidates fuelled the charged atmosphere in Oporoma. At this point, the INEC workers in the area made it clear to him (Dickson) that his action was a breach of the Electoral Act.
“The military officer in charge of the troops deployed in Oporoma also met the candidate and advised him to leave the area because his personal security could not be guaranteed.”
But a statement by RCO’s Director of Publicity, Mr. Jonathan Obuebite, said the Army could have done better to forestall the violence that led to the cancelation of the election.
The statement also rejected the position of the Army that it was neutral.
It accused the security agencies of colluding with others to rig the election.
Obuebite blamed the Army for the security lapses that caused deaths in the local government, saying the military did not heed the governor’s advice and those of others to postpone the election because of anticipated violence.
The campaign spokesman condemned the Army for alleged partisanship, adding that some of its officers worked with suspected thugs loyal to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to undermine the election in Southern Ijaw.
He said: “It is only fit and proper for the Joint Task Force (JTF) to own up to its failures and apologise to Southern Ijaw residents for the despicable and unprofessional conduct of some of its officers, who clearly were more interested in lining their pockets.
“It failed to give reasons why it withdrew the military security attached to the governor and gave an order for them to be detained, thereby compromising the security of the governor.”
The statement added: “We expected the JTF to have done much more, knowing well about reports of arms build-up by the APC leading to the election.
“The JTF should have adopted a proactive approach by deploying superior intelligence to track down movement of arms by APC thugs and arrest same before the commencement of the elections.
“JTF failed to acknowledge that it erred by not heeding the advice of the governor and others, including women, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and INEC ad hoc workers, who protested, calling for the postponement of the election.”
Obuebite claimed that even on Sunday, the day of the rescheduled poll, there were still cause for security concerns.
This, he said, prompted the governor, as the chief security officer, to visit Oporoma.
The campaign spokesman insisted that Dickson acted within his rights and for the genuine concern for the residents’ security.
He said: “Unfortunately, the JTF lied that the governor’s presence heightened security in the area. That’s so cheeky and it only shows that the military was indeed compromised.
“The governor went to Oporoma, headquarters of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area out of genuine concern for the security of lives of the citizens. He went there as early as 7am, long before the commencement of election.”
Obuebite added: “Much as we applaud the effort of the JTF and the police for arresting some suspects and parading same to reporters, they should have gone a step further to reveal the identities of those arrested and the bigwigs in the APC, who sent them.
“Or better still, they should have allowed reporters to interview the suspects, to ask who sent them. The public deserves to know, to be sure where to appropriately apportion the blame.”
