TheCable

Timipre Sylva, a former governor of Bayelsa, says Seriake Dickson, the governor, could pass as Nigeria’s pettiest politician.

Doifie Buokoribo, Sylva’s media aide, quoted the former governor as saying this in reaction to comment made by Dickson.

The governor reportedly blamed Sylva for the clash between members of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Brass local government area of the state.

Three people sustained injuries in the attack.

But Sylva said Dickson’s allegations only showed “his excuses for plotting a campaign of slander and destabilising the Brass Island”.

“We dare say that the governor’s excuses are unfounded. His explanations are heavy with machinations and manoeuvrings, all executed with an eye to his signature dirty politics. This is more so as the virtual blab to the press by Dickson does not contain any evidence of Sylva’s link with any of the allegations posited as grounds for the governor’s wicked plots and activities,” the statement read.

“The profiling of Brass local government council by Dickson shows his wicked mindset towards the people he has always attempted to conquer, and demonstrates an innate pettiness and lack of broad-mindedness in the administration of a state.

“Dickson would pass as the pettiest politician ever known to Nigerian politics. He is the only person who claims to have won an election but imagines eternally that he is being chased around by the shadow of the so-called loser. In one breathe, he calls Sylva a failed politician, in another, he sees Sylva’s shadow in every local community election in Bayelsa.

“He sees Sylva’s shadow in every local armed robbery in the state. He sees Sylva in his inability to govern, his inability to pay salaries, and his complete ineptitude. If this is not paranoia, it is hard to imagine what else it is.

“Now to the question of criminality. Dickson appointed known criminals and kidnappers as Caretaker Chairmen of local councils. He is encouraging criminality and brigandage and blaming everyone else, except himself.

“It is surprising Dickson is not blaming his benefactor, Goodluck Jonathan, this time. The level of armed robbery in our state at the moment is unprecedented. Kidnapping and killings are on the rise. Our people cannot safely travel on the waterways, as sea pirates kill and pillage unchecked.

“Bayelsa is on the brink of collapse. Yet, Dickson feels his problem is Sylva. In an attempt to hide his swarming depravities, Dickson is meeting with Chief Edwin Clark to try to position himself as the one to solve the Niger Delta problem. Maybe as the sponsor of the problem, he knows what to do to stop it.

“But Dickson needs to be well advised to simply stay home and govern the people, instead of fighting his own devious shadows. His lack of forthrightness is what is breeding vices in unprecedented proportions in the state and the region.”