Dr Dennis Otiotio is a stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa state. In this interview with JOY EMMANUEL, he accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of sponsoring all the political thuggery in the state
How would you assess the 2015 and 2019 elections in Bayelsa state?
Well, you can see that the performance of APC in the 2019 general elections in Bayelsa state is tremendously better than the previous one. For instance, in the 2015 election, President Buhari got just 5,000 votes but in this last one, Buhari got about 118,000 votes. We gave Buhari more than 35 percent of the votes. So, you can see that there is a great improvement. In 2015, we had only a House of Assembly member but in 2019, we have one senator-elect, two House of Representatives members-elect and four state assembly members-elect. We are still waiting for the fifth one. You are aware that in Brass Constituency 1, we were leading and the PDP went to court to stop the process. Anytime that election is completed, we will win. Going forward, we believe that this year, we are going to take over the Government House.
In 2015, your party lost the governorship election, where did you get it wrong?
Well, we did not lose the 2015 election. We were rigged out. What happened in the 2015 election was that both the police and INEC worked against us. If you recall, in any polling units and areas where we won, they would cancelled the election. You are aware that Dr Goodluck Jonathan was the president of the country and he is from this state. So, INEC was in total control. Those people who did the 2015 election were people nominated by the PDP. So, when we knew that INEC was going to use the same persons they used for the 2015 general elections, we knew that we were going to be rigged out. That was why we protested and wrote petitions that the state resident electoral commissioner and the administrative secretary.
What are the strategies being put in place by your party to win the next governorship election?
We don’t need any particular strategy. If you reside in Bayelsa, you would know that the people are mourning, groaning and lamenting. They are looking for a saviour. They are calling on the APC to come and save them. Civil servants, up till now, are being owed some months salaries and pensioners are not left out. Even the little money being paid to civil servants are being dubiously deducted. If you go to the Niger Delta University, over 2,000 staff was sacked. Do you know how many billions have come into the state from the Paris Club refunds, what have they done with it? Now, the way INEC is doing it is difficult to rig because of card readers. The people are now very eager to vote a candidate that will bring development to their door steps; and it is only the APC and Chief Timipre Sylva that can bring about the needed development to their door steps. Before Timipre Sylva became governor, we had only two major roads in Yenagoa -the Bergar road that was done by Alamieyeseigha and the Imbiama-Yenagoa road. But Sylva came and constructed about 56 internal roads. Before Sylva came, if you had a car, you would park along the Imbiama-Yenagoa road and trek in. But when these internal roads were constructed, people started driving to their houses. Sylva had a good developmental plan for Bayelsa state unfortunately Jonathan felt that Sylva must go. Unceremoniously, they denied him a second term.
One serious allegation against Sylva was that he used his security outfit to cause insecurity in the state as governor. How will your party erase that allegation?
During Sylva’s time, there was night life in Bayelsa state. People went about their normal businesses without any form of harassment and molestation. People were on the streets of Yenagoa till midnight. But now, by 6pm, you can’t come out of your door. Today, people are clamouring to stay in the Famou-Tamgbei era than in the Doo-Akpor era. Now, we hear of killings every day. In Sylva’s time, all the criminals and miscreants ran away and took refuge in Rivers and other neighbouring states. Do you know that it was Sylva that ended militancy? He was the person who proposed the amnesty programme. When Sylva came in, he was able to discuss with the militants and gave them orientation and they accepted the amnesty programme. Yes, some of the policemen attached to Operation Famou-Tamgbei acted in excesses of their powers, but were disciplined. You will agree with me that during the Famou-Tamgbei era, Bayelsa state was a safe haven. Now, you can also agree with me that by six in the evening, you won’t be able to go to your house or come out of your house. It is not safe.
The state governor has always associated the APC with violence. What is your view on that?
During the last election, I believe you know that they arrested the current chairman of Southern Ijaw local government area, Mr Africanus, in his house alongside more than 50 boys with heavy arms and ammunition. They have been moved to Abuja. Are they APC boys? No. They are PDP boys. In Nembe local government, the only person that was killed on the eve of the presidential and national assembly elections was an APC boy. He was killed by PDP thugs. Anywhere you hear of thugs, it is the PDP. We are a peace loving party. It is the governor that arms the thugs, fund them and direct them to commit felony and other forms of brigandage and then come to the radio to tongue-lash APC.
The state government has accused members of your party of conniving with security men attached to oil companies where they have interest of constituting security risks. What is your take on this?
I am not in the oil and gas business; I don’t even know those who are in the oil and gas surveillance business, but I can tell you that this oil and gas contracts started even before the APC was registered as a political party. Those contracts were awarded sometimes in 2012/2013 when our party had not been registered. So, what are they saying? People have choice of membership. You can become PDP or APC member. If you have a contract and you decide to join another party, that move does not make that contract a PDP or an APC contract. Oil and gas surveillance contractors are private businesses men. They might choose to belong to any political party of their choice. That is their constitutional right. Their job is to work with security agencies to prevent hoodlums from vandalising oil pipelines to ensure that oil production move seamlessly. In Southern Ijaw that the PDP mentioned, the thugs arrested with arms were members of the PDP, not surveillance contractors. You have a job to report the truth through investigative journalism. If you do a little digging, you will find out that those who were perpetrating the mayhem in Southern Ijaw and other places were not APC members, neither were they surveillance contractors. They were PDP members contacted by the caretaker chairman of Southern Ijaw local government area.
