The Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, and a former governor of the state, Chief Timipre Sylva, are locked in a war of words over alleged encouragement of criminal activities in the state.
Dickson, on Sunday, faulted a claim by the Timipre Sylva Media Office accusing him (Dickson) of plotting to orchestrate a campaign of calumny against Sylva.
The governor, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Public Affairs, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, said he was too busy with the execution of the mandate given to him by the people of Bayelsa to take issues with politicians who had allegedly failed Bayelsa and the Ijaw nation.
He advised Sylva to stop using the name of President Muhammadu Buhari to cover up his alleged criminal activities in Bayelsa.
Dickson said that Sylva, being in the ruling All Progressives Congress, should not be a licence for him to sponsor criminal activities to the detriment of peace and security in the state.
He called on the security agencies to be firm in the discharge of their statutory responsibilities and not to allow unscrupulous politicians to take advantage of them.
He also called on the security agencies to ensure the security of lives and property in the state.
Dickson said since Sylva became a member of the APC, the party had allegedly become a gang of cultists, hooligans and criminals.
He said Sylva should be concerned that Brass, his local government area, had become a den of criminals, warning that he would not hesitate to invoke the powers of the law against anybody found to be involved in acts harmful to the security of the state.
The governor stressed that he had a duty to protect lives and property in Bayelsa, alleging that Sylva was only out to create the false impression that he was a factor in Bayelsa politics which was untrue.
Dickson advised Sylva to give attention to his dwindling political reputation rather than peddling falsehood.
The statement added that Sylva, who sought to be governor twice and was twice rejected by Bayelsans, could not have been pulled down by Dickson because he was already down.
The governor said, “This is a government that has a mandate to execute on behalf of the Bayelsa people. We cannot afford to be distracted by falsehood emanating from Sylva and his men.
“Sylva should stop encouraging criminality in Bayelsa; he should support stability and development of his state. We have worked hard to address the insecurity and underdevelopment that Sylva left behind.’’
Sylva on his own part, urged Dickson to face the business of governance rather than engaging in a campaign of calumny against him.
Sylva, in a statement on Sunday by his Media Adviser, Doifie Buokoribo, claimed that his attention had been drawn to a clandestine scheme by the government to make him an object of ridicule in the eyes of the public.
He said, “We wish to alert well-meaning Nigerians to the plan by Dickson to launch a structured campaign of calumny against me. We are not surprised, as this is in the character of Dickson. We witnessed this irresponsible behaviour before, during and after the last governorship election in the state, which he bought.
“Dickson is living in fear – the fear of Sylva. The governor finds it difficult to come to terms with the fact that despite his shenanigans and schizoid propaganda to diminish me, my political profile continues to rise and rise and rise.”