Pauline Onyibe 
The Bayelsa State Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 11 Governorship Election, Chief Timipre Sylva, has thanked President Bola Tinubu and the IGP for the peace that is being enjoyed at Opu-Nembe now.
He, however, alerted security agencies and members of the public of an alleged plot by the state Governor, Douye Diri, to stoke fresh crisis in Opu-Nembe ahead of the November 11 governorship election.
Sylva in a statement issued on Thursday and signed by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Julius Bokoru, states that Governor Diri had allegedly been the hand behind the Opu-Nembe bloody crisis in the past two years declaring that the governor had shown nothing but absolute disdain to the people of the area.
Sylva said upon his return from abroad, Diri was angry to behold that the Inspector-General of Police hearkened to the outcries of the people and restored calm in Opu-Nembe adding that since Governor Douye Diri returned from his abroad, he has been stoking fire in Opu -Nembe.
Sylva told security agencies that Diri’s alleged bullying of the hapless Opu-Nembe people had become too much adding that the governor had made the community a topic in all Security Council meetings in Bayelsa.
The former governor said that if Diri continued to interfere in the affairs of Opu-Nembe now that the situation is calm, patrons of the community and concerned Bayelsans would have no choice but to take legitimate actions to protect the community from cynics who only trade in innocent blood.
The statement read “It is very concerning that Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has become obsessed with Opu-Nembe, a community for which he had shown absolute disdain. If you ask Governor Diri to point to one project he has done in Opu-Nembe, be assured he cannot point to half a project.
“It is quite disturbing that Governor Diri only woke up from his slumber at this time when at the plea of the community the Inspector-General of Police waded in and got the community back on its feet again.
“Every thinking person knows that Diri’s obsession with Opu-Nembe is not unconnected with the coming governorship election in Bayelsa State. Opu-Nembe happens to be a stronghold of the APC and the governor has vowed to destabilize it at all cost”.
“Governor Diri is also a candidate like other governorship candidates in the coming elections. We expect that security agencies in Bayelsa State will respect that and stop appearing partisan.
“Opu-Nembe people will not sit back and watch traditional chieftaincy institutions being bastardized. Governor Diri should realize that he is dealing with an ancient culture with established ways of doing things. He is not from Opu-Nembe.
“Douye Diri’s primary and only interest with Opu-Nembe should be to develop the community and support the peace already in place. His pipe dream of destabilising Opu-Nembe at all costs before the elections will be bravely resisted by the community, citizens and every Bayelsan of goodwill.
“Governor Diri should use our common patrimony to develop the state instead of embarking on futile actions and attempts to bribe his way through the elections”.
But Chief Press Secretary to Governor Douye Diri, Daniel Alabrah in his reaction to the allegations stated that Chief Timipre Sylva appears to be playing the ostrich in the Opu-Nembe (Bassambiri) community crisis.
He said Chief Sylva was embarking on a futile mission to deflect attention from his own disdainful role in the protracted conflict adding that “It is a surprise that the former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources just found his voice one month after the current crisis broke in the community.
The statement continued “It is equally befuddling that Sylva was engaging in scapegoats when virtually everyone in the state and beyond knew who the key instigator and agent-provocateur in the Bassambiri crisis was.
“To claim that the governor had been silent, in one breath, since the current skirmish was ignited in Chief Sylva’s paternal community two years ago, smacks of either his poor analysis of the situation on ground or perhaps he is ignorant of the governor’s role in ensuring that peace returned to Bassambiri.
“Chief Sylva cannot now claim to love the Bassambiri people more than those who provided succour for the displaced persons and those chased away from the community as a result of the politics or election-induced crisis.
“If he truly loves the community and desires peace to reign, Chief Sylva should rather toe the path of patriotism by joining hands with Governor Diri, the state government and all lovers of goodwill to resolve the crisis.
“What is good for Bassambiri is not the current peace of the graveyard that Chief Sylva appears to celebrate but genuine peace and serenity. This is what Governor Diri has engendered across the state, devoid of any political interest or consideration. Bassambiri ought not to be different.
“For the former governor to also turn around to accuse the incumbent governor of stirring crisis in the community, on the other hand, is an indication that Sylva had forgotten what a governor needed to do in such a circumstance and he, therefore, does not deserve the votes of the Bayelsa people on November 11.
