APC Chides Governor Dickson Over ‘Uncomplimentary Remarks’

The Bayelsa State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has criticised Governor Seriake Dickson over comments in which he allegedly described the party as preparing to form “a government of criminals and cultists” in the state.

Dickson was reported to have made the remarks in Yenagoa during the inauguration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governorship Election Campaign Organisation ahead of the November 16, 2019 governorship election.

Reacting in a statement, the APC dismissed the governor’s comments as political mudslinging and accused him of attempting to discredit his opponents.

The statement was signed by the party’s State Publicity Secretary and Secretary of the Media and Publicity Committee of its 2019 Governorship Campaign Council, Doifie Buokoribo.

Buokoribo alleged that Dickson had a pattern of attacking political opponents whenever he faced strong electoral competition.

The APC spokesman further accused the PDP administration of attempting to create negative narratives around its rivals ahead of elections, though he provided no independent evidence to support the allegations.

According to him, the APC would not be distracted by what it considered provocative statements from the governor.

Buokoribo questioned why Dickson would devote part of a campaign event to attacking the opposition rather than explaining the PDP’s plans and programmes to voters.

He argued that residents of Bayelsa were more interested in hearing what the competing parties intended to do about the state’s development challenges.

The APC also expressed confidence that its candidate would defeat the PDP in the governorship election.

“APC is not distracted by those tricks and manifestation of defeat,” Buokoribo said, predicting that the ruling PDP in the state would lose the November 16 poll.

The statement reflected the increasingly heated exchanges between the two major parties as campaigns intensified ahead of the Bayelsa governorship election.