'PDP,Dickson training thugs for election'- APC

The Timipre Sylva Campaign Organisation, on
Sunday, accused the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) and Governor Seriake Dickson of plotting to
cause mayhem by sponsoring demonstrations in
Yenagoa, the State capital, against the All
Progressives Congress (APC).
A statement by Doifie Buokoribo alleged of a
reported threat by a “shadowy group of thugs”
under the aegis of “Mangrove Boys of Bayelsa” to
mobilise a 10,000-man march against its principal,
ahead of the December 5 governorship election.
It said the sponsored protest was another
manifestation of fear and frustration, which
Dickson and the PDP had displayed since Sylva
emerged as APC candidate.
Buokoribo called on security agencies to hold
Dickson and his party responsible for any
breakdown of law and order arising from
instigated protest.
Continuing, the statement called the attention of
the public to “the frenzy of sponsored media
activity by Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson and the
PDP against the candidacy of Timipre Sylva.”
“This campaign began before Sylva’s emergence
as the APC governorship candidate, and it was
clearly purposed to ensure that APC presented a
candidate that would give Dickson an easy victory.
“Having failed in the bid to manipulate the
emergence of an APC candidate that can be
defeated, and realising the fact of Dickson’s
imminent loss at the 5 December poll, the
embattled governor and his party have deployed
everything at their disposal to try to denigrate
Sylva’s candidacy.
“They have packaged a multi-billion naira media
campaign, not to tell the world what Dickson has
done and can do for Bayelsa, but to try to vilify
Sylva,” the organisation said.
The Sylva campaign team recalled that this same
‘Mangrove Boys of Bayelsa’, had in the thick of
the 2015 presidential campaign serially threatened
the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan,
warning “her not to visit Bayelsa for the PDP
presidential rally (besides) accusing her of using
the state chapter of the Transformation
Ambassadors of Nigeria to undermine Governor
Dickson.
“Now that Mrs. Jonathan and Dickson claim to
have settled, the Mangrove Boys of Bayelsa and
their principal have found a new enemy in Sylva.
“In a way, we agree that the coming election is
about Sylva. The election is about the birthing of a
prosperous Bayelsa through Sylva, or the negation
of progress through opposition to his candidacy,”
it added.