Former Governor of Bayelsa State and standard-bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the December 5 governorship election in Bayelsa, Timpire Sylva, has accused his main contender, Governor Seriake Dickson of spreading falsehood against him, adding that such strategy adopted by Dickson would fail him just like it did to former President, Goodluck Jonathan during the last Presidential election.
In a statement by his spokesman, Doifie Buokoribo, the APC guber candidate said: “The Timipre Sylva campaign organisation has deplored and condemned the campaign strategy of the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Hon. Seriake Dickson, as dominated by falsehood and deceit.
“Such a strategy will fail the Bayelsa PDP governorship candidate at the December 5 election just as it failed his principal, former President Goodluck Jonathan, at the last general election.
“We are disturbed that a sitting government desiring re-election has taken to a campaign of calumny, deception, and lies and a sole election strategy. In lie after lie, which we have extensively exposed, they have tried to malign the character of Sylva. But it is clear that Dickson and his co-travellers will fail.
“They will fail in Bayelsa State, as we are all living witnesses to how such campaign of slander and mudslinging fell flat at the federal level, when it was applied by their principal, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, during the last presidential election. This fact is indubitable, and we ordinarily would not have bothered about Dickson and PDP’s mission of self-destruction in Bayelsa State.
“But we need to warn that in this election, we are not in a contest for who would abuse most, but in a contest to improve the lives of the people of Bayelsa. “What comes out clearly in the current well-funded media campaign against Sylva is that it carries the official stamp of the Dickson administration. The visibly unimaginative and dull anti-Sylva publications have emanated from Government House, Yenagoa, as the email addresses, forwardings, and other imprimaturs of the Dickson government on them show.
“Obviously, the campaign of calumny against Sylva is a deliberate policy of the Dickson administration, his only election plan, because, as we have repeatedly pointed out, he is evidently incompetent and ignorant of any achievements to campaign with.
“In their latest rant, they claimed that Sylva was bankrupt. Well, while Dickson is celebrating that Sylva is bankrupt, we are celebrating Dickson’s imminent defeat.”
Sylva alleged that it was Dickson who plotted the removal of Alamieyeseigha from office, accusing him of now scoring cheap political gains with the demise of the late Ijaw leader.
He added: “Recently, Dickson and his party have taken to seeking political capital from every unfortunate event that befalls Bayelsa state and the Ijaw nation.
“When the former PDP state chairman who defected to the APC, Sam Inokoba, died, they mobilised their instruments of falsehood to claim that he died in the house of the APC chieftain, Mr. Timi Alaibe.
Now with the death of the Ijaw leader and our former governor, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, this same group, using the same channels, are wickedly exploiting the tragedy under the illusion that it could give them victory at the poll.
“But we recall that it was Dickson and his cohorts that orchestrated the impeachment and incarceration of Alamieyeseigha. The PDP state chairman, Mr. Serena David-Dokubo, was chairman of the impeachment panel that executed Alamieyeseigha’s controversial removal from office. And Dickson personally led protests to ensure that Alamieyeseigha was impeached and tried.
”They are now pretending to love Alamieyeseigha and the Ijaw nation. For the avoidance of doubt, Alamieyeseigha was impeached on grounds of jumping bail, not corruption which the Dokubo panel did not even investigate.
“In the Ijaw culture and tradition, you do not exploit the death of somebody for secular benefits, as Dickson and his group are doing with the death of Alamieyeseigha.
“Our people have distinguished between illusion and reality, and they have left Dickson a long time ago to seek the reality of prosperous governance in APC and Sylva. This will be demonstrated on December 5,” he said.
