Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has urged politicians in the state not to resort to violence during the November 11 governorship election, but to focus on the votes of the people.
The governor made this known during the 25th State Security Council meeting in Government House, Yenagoa, yesterday.
The governor, in a warning to the oppositions, stated that the election was about vote, note gun, similarly it is about ballots, not bullets, and that any act of violence would not be tolerated. He also encouraged the security agencies to be prepared to prevent any such incidents.
His words: “In Bayelsa, I assure my opponents that we are not going to arm-twist anyone. In the same vein, no opponent should threaten mayhem and violence.
“This government has the capacity to contain them if anybody dares us. We want a Bayelsa State which is the centre and Jerusalem of all Ijaws, to play that role of not only tolerating ourselves but also visitors who come here to contribute to the growth and development of this state.
“So I again call on all our security agencies to be alert as we move towards the November 11 contest. It is a contest of votes and not of guns. It is a contest of ballots, not bullets. As the former president succinctly said that his office was not worth the blood of any Nigerian, I believe in that and I stand by those words.”
Speaking to newsmen at the end of the meeting, the state Commissioner of Police, Tolani Alausa, said the council resolved that a joint task force to checkmate criminal activities preparatory to the governorship election, particularly in the Nembe axis, would be set up soon.
Alausa noted that the task force would comprise the military, police, Department of State Security, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other key security agencies to be headed by the police commissioner.