A stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Richard Perekeme Kpodo, on Wednesday, called on the national leadership of the party to cancel the controversial result of Tuesday’s governorship primary in Yenagoa which was purportedly won by former Governor Timipre Sylva.
Kpodo, who also called for the disqualification of Sylva, described the primary as a sham, saying the outcome of the exercise as reportedly conducted by Sylva and his loyalists cannot be a basis to produce the party’s governorship candidate for the governorship election in the state.
He stated that Sylva through his manipulation, intimidation of aspirants and use of thugs, exhibited his true character.
He said it was such character he displayed while he was governor of the state, insisting that Sylva was a bad product for the APC.
Kpodo expressed displeasure at what he termed the rascality and extreme show of violence displayed by alleged thugs of Sylva who held the chairman of the seven-man electoral committee and Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, hostage for hours.
He argued that the action of Sylva and his boys showed how desperate he was to grab power by hook or crook and expressed hope that the national leadership would not sweep the matter under the carpet.
He lauded the courage and bravery of the officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) and soldiers who rescued Oshiomhole from Sylva’s irate youths.
“As one of the founders of the APC in Bayelsa State, I think the national leadership of the party should disqualify Timipre Sylva for his insubordination because all amount to criminality against the party’s constitution and guidelines.
“So, we are calling on the national leadership of our great party to take action to sanction Sylva for manipulating the process and intimidation of fellow delegates and electoral officers led by Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole.
“This is because we do not see any reason a leader of the party could hold a serving governor hostage and if Oshiomhole were not an activist, the man would have succumbed to their ‘evil machination’.
“But Oshiomhole maintained his cool, calculated and was able to wriggle out of the problem. He even told Sylva that he could not do him anything.
“And we thank God we have a vibrant DSS director who rescued Oshiomhole from the Sylva thugs. He is supposed to be disqualified.
“The guideline said if you have a criminal case in court, you cannot contest. The party is not even abiding by its rule. The mantra of the party is change, that is, to change the old wrong ways of doing things. For instance, to desist from acts of thuggery, cultism and other criminal ways.
“As I said earlier, Sylva should be disqualified. The primary should be rescheduled so that proper screening can be done. A lot of people came with cloned Permanent Voter Cards, answering other people’s name.
“A lot of shooting in the arena; is that how he wants to lead Bayelsa State? During his first tenure, there was serious security breach in the state. Now he has started exhibiting his true character,” Kpodo said.
He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that Sylva was properly prosecuted for his alleged crime against the state.
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