Bayelsa guber polls: Group urges military to keep off Ijaw land

NEDU MARK
YENAGOA

Ahead of the yet to be rescheduled Southern Ijaw governorship election in Bayelsa state, a group, Non Violent Niger Delta Freedom Fighters, has urged the Nigerian military to keep off Ijaw land as the Ijaws do no longer have confidence in them.

The group also called on the Nigeria Police Force, which is vested with the constitutional responsibility of dealing with civilians to supervise the forthcoming re-run election.

Leader of the Non Violent Agitators, Charles Omusuku Esq stated this in Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa state while reacting to the perceived shortfalls of the December 5th and 6th governorship elections in the state.

He told journalists that the military aided and abetted the rigging of the last governorship elections, saying that one yet unknown soldier, was responsible for issuing fake military Uniforms to political thugs to manipulate the electoral process.

The group equally challenged the military to produce the soldier, a Major, noting that up till date, the officer remains an unknown soldier among the military fold as the military cannot tell Nigerians who he is or was.

“There is no need to deploy the military to monitor the election in the state, because their presence could bring trouble, we don’t have confidence in them any longer,” he said.

Omusuku insisted that “we don’t have confidence in the military and there are persons authorized by the constitution to play this role and that is the Nigeria Police Force, they have the power and their men are on ground to deliver a free and fair electoral process in Bayelsa state.”

The Non Violent Niger Delta Freedom Fighters also urged the federal government to desist from deploying federal might in Ijaw territories as the Ijaw man had never been defeated, conquered and will never be conquered in this election process.

The Non Violent Agitators called on the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva to accept the verdict of the people and hands off, than resort to militarizing the area.

Also speaking, Director General, Ijaw Renaissance Assembly, Onisoya Odum appealled to President Muhammadu Buhari not to scuttle the federal government’s Amnesty project for the ex agitators.

He decried the delays in the payment of their monthly stipends to the Niger Delta youths under skills acquisition programm abroad.