A stakeholders meeting between supporters of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State ended in a rowdy session on Wednesday, October 16.
Organised by the national leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the meeting which had INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu in attendance ended abruptly, after outbursts by elders from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The meeting which had heads of security agencies such as the Inspector General of Police Muhammad Adamu, represented by the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Abdulmajeed Ali was designed by the Prof. Yakubu Mahmood-led commission to discuss burning issues with stakeholders for the November 16 governorship poll.
However, actions by elders of the parties during the interactive session caused tension and rowdiness in the hall.
A source who spoke with us said trouble started after the Chairman of the PDP Bayelsa Elders Forum, Dr. Francis Duokpola, alleged that some persons were chased out of their community and made to live in Yenagoa as Internally-Displaced Persons (IDPs) after the last general election in the state.
He said: “We are busy talking about 2015 elections and we forget that we had an election in 2019. The Presidential and National Assembly elections in the state were one of the worst polls organised by INEC.
“Because of that election, part of a community is living in an Internally Displaced Camp (IDP), because they do not belong to a particular party. INEC has not done anything about it. I am talking about the people of Nembe Bassambiri.”
But an APC stalwart, Dr. Dennis Otiotio, immediately interjected, shouting Duokpola down and calling him a liar.
Other APC leaders in the hall joined Otiotio to refer to Duokpola as a liar, alleging that he belonged to partisan elders destroying the state.
Apparent that nothing could be achieved with the two parties in a face off, Mahmood called for vote of thanks and the national anthem to end the programme.
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