‘Bayelsa guber poll must not be won by superior violence’

Politicians in Bayelsa State have been warned to ensure that the governorship election must not be contested and won based on superiority of violence.

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Timi Alaibe, who gave the advice yesterday, urged security agents to rise to the challenge of sudden upsurge in violence ahead of this weekend’s poll.He described the violence that claimed over five lives in Nembe-Ogbolomabiri in Nembe Local Council on Wednesday as sad and an embarrassing development in Bayelsa in the build-up to the gubernatorial contest.

The former managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) stated that elections to public offices were supposed to be based on acceptability by the electorate. That acceptability, according to him, ought to be a product of popularity of ideas.His words: “ Election must not be contested and won based on superiority of violence but on superiority of ideas. Ideas speak to the heart of the people. Ideas generate transformation. Violence brings about torture and death. The result of violence is bloodshed and tears.

“Elections must be contested and won based on the freewill of the voters. Voters must not be intimidated by threat of violence. We must resolve to depart from this path. Every democratic society is tailored after the ideological concept of freedom, welfare, equality, solidarity and progress.”

He explained that his position had always been that politics or election was not worth dying and killing for because “it is not a war.Alaibe emphasised that seeking election to public office does not mean politicians should kill anyone who stands in their way, “instead seeking election to public office means convincing opposing elements with superior arguments.”

He added: “We must not kill the electorate to win election. We can only persuade the electorate to have their votes“Our people must not be killed because they want to elect leaders of their choice by exercising their constitutional rights. We as politicians must learn from the errors of the past. Enough is enough. I am on the side of free and fair election on November 16. I am on the side of election without violence.”