Bayelsa government condemns violence in APC meeting

•Urges security to fish out culprits
The Bayelsa State government has condemned last Friday’s violence that rocked the inauguration of the state Acting Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

A statement by the state’s Acting Governor, Real Admiral John Jonah in Yenagoa, described the incident as unsettling and condemnable.

According to him, violence has become a regular feature in the APC’s political gathering, which is an indication that it is not mature enough to evolve a mechanism to resolve minor internal party differences.

The acting governor said it was totally unacceptable for gunmen to forcibly prevent law-abiding Bayelsans and other residents from going about their lawful duties.

He described the incident as a replay of the last governorship primaries by the APC in Yenagoa, where a former governor had to be whisked away to safety.

“During the crisis, a section of Yenagoa metropolis was shut down completely as hundreds of APC youths, brandishing AK 47 rifles and other dangerous weapons, took to the street firing sporadically, thereby bringing commercial and social activities to a halt,” he said.

Jonah explained that the state had in the last six years, witnessed unprecedented peace and harmony due largely to the capacity and determination of Governor Seriake Dickson to ensure that peace reigns in the state.

He warned that the government would not stand by and watch APC members unleash terror and violence on innocent citizens to the extent of getting people killed.

While sympathising with families of those who lost their lives and the injured, he commended the security agencies for their timely intervention in bringing the ugly situation under control.