The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 11, 2023 governorship poll in Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and security agents of harassing his supporters.
Sylva made these allegations on Saturday after casting his vote at Ward 4, Unit 4 in the Brass Local Government Area of the South-South state.
Specifically, he pointed fingers at security agents, particularly the Army, asserting that they are allegedly favoring the PDP.
Sylva reported incidents of violence in Yenagoa, the state capital, and claimed that a member of the APC was shot.
He expressed concern about the deliberate targeting of large polling units where he enjoys popularity.
“There is a lot of violence from the PDP trying to molest our voters with security (agents),” Sylva said. In fact, in some cases, it is believed by our people that we are running election, not against PDP, but against security (agents) but we are containing it.”
The APC candidate, however, commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), saying “There is a lot of improvement on the part of INEC but there is still room for improvement.”
Sylva served as the governor of Bayelsa twice, initially from May 2007 to April 2008, and later from May 2008 to January 2012. He also held the position of Minister of State for Petroleum Resources from 2019 to 2023.
In the current Saturday’s election, Sylva is contesting against the incumbent Governor of Bayelsa and PDP candidate, Duoye Diri, who is seeking re-election. Analysts widely characterize the election as a two-horse race.
Meanwhile, Diri has accused Sylva of being involved in the electoral violence that occurred in the Nembe-Bassambiri area of the state on Saturday.