Bayelsa Election: Group Cautions Against Electoral Violence

Ahead of the November 11, 2023 governorship election in Bayelsa State, a non-governmental group, Credible Elections Project, has called on all political parties and their candidates to be decorous in their acts and adhere to the provisions of the electoral laws.

The group, with strong interest in free and fair elections in Nigeria, made the call in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja on Sunday by its National Coordinator, Dr. Fred Adams and the Public Relations Officer, Amina Musa.

The group called for a violence-free election in Bayelsa, saying that the state in the Niger Delta region can not afford to be engrossed in crisis due to the interest of individuals.

It said there was no need to stoke crisis not originally contemplated by the people of Bayelsa.

The group condemned a statement of “brimstone and fire threat” attributed to the candidate of one of the opposition parties, saying such does not arise for any reason.

“We have watched with utmost concern the utterances of some candidates of political parties contesting the governorship election in Bayelsa which are not in line with the spirit of democracy that requires issue-based campaigns.

“We take exception to the threat of fire and brimstone and other unwarranted threats under any guise by the governorship candidate of the opposition.

“The PDP and the APC have their strong presence in Bayelsa.

“It rests on the candidates including other smaller parties to vigorously embark on issue-based campaigns in a bid to convince the electorates rather than contemplating violence which would not serve the people of Bayelsa any good,“ the group said.

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In particular, it urged the candidate of APC, Timipreye Sylva and others to maintain peace and refrain from any comment capable of causing electoral violence.

The group warned that it would petition President Bola Tinubu, the Inspector General of Police, the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Service and other security agencies with clips of utterances by any of the candidates should they refuse to refrain from attempting to stoke crisis before and during the election.

NAN