Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has warned those planning a mega rally and inauguration of a group loyal to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, that such gathering is capable of igniting crisis in the state.
Diri, who also raised the alarm about a plot to breach the peace, warned that the state government would not condone any act that would disrupt the peace of the state.
He advised security commanders, youths, elders and traditional rulers to be on the alert.
The governor stated this during separate meetings with the Bayelsa Elders Council and at the 37th session of the state security council on Thursday in Yenagoa, the state capital
He stated that holding such event at a time the political crisis in Rivers State had heightened ethnic tensions could degenerate into conflict in neighbouring Bayelsa.
He further stated that the alarm was imperative given that the FCT Minister had “threatened to cause crisis in PDP-governed states”.
He said: “Any attempt to import the Rivers State political crisis into Bayelsa will be resisted. I urge security commanders in the state to be on the alert. Parents and traditional rulers should discourage their wards and children from being used by unscrupulous elements to cause trouble in the state.”
Diri, who insisted that the peaceful disposition of the Ijaws should not be misconstrued for cowardice, said the state would not allow a faceless group to foment trouble in Bayelsa, which is the homeland of all Ijaw people.
“As you are aware, we have threats from our sister state. The political crisis there is threatening us and we will not allow what is happening there to come into Bayelsa State.
“We had in our party a renegade, who has decided to form a parallel PDP in Bayelsa State, working with an ex-governor.
“The party in our state suspended him for gross misconduct and for now he is not a member of our party in Bayelsa State.
“He was a part of the kangaroo PDP South South zonal congress that was rejected by the National Working Committee of our party and he is threatening the peace of this state.
“This is not Rivers State. Bayelsa is the cradle of every Ijaw man. I have always said that being peaceful is not cowardice. We are very courageous and we can stand up for the truth at all times.
“Every public facility owned by the Bayelsa State government cannot be used except with the express approval of the state government.”
The Bayelsa helmsman enjoined the people to continue to maintain the prevailing peace in the state in order to sustain its development.
Earlier, chairman of the Bayelsa Elders Council, who is the immediate past deputy governor of the state, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (rtd), commended Diri for his administration’s developmental strides.
(Daily Trust)
