What Thugs Did To Me In Bayelsa - Oshiomhole

The Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, on Wednesday, narrated how he escaped from the Samson Siasia Stadium, Yenagoa, venue of the 2015 governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress, after he was held hostage for hours during the exercise which was marred by violence.

Oshiomhole, who spoke with journalists on Wednesday, however, accused a former governor of Bayelsa State and chieftain of the APC, Mr. Timipre Sylva, of hijacking the primary.

He also dismissed media reports that the party’s primary held and that Silva emerged as the party’s candidate.

The governor said the electoral process was hijacked by thugs, allegedly supervised by the former governor, who insisted the exercise should be conducted without accreditation.

He said, “I was appointed with six other members from the APC to conduct the governorship primary in Bayelsa State. The exercise took place yesterday and, somehow, thugs took over the sports complex where the exercise was to take place.

“They practically prevented the actual delegates from participating and as a result, we could not proceed with the exercise. The committee was virtually held hostage, including my humble self and, this time, they were supervised unfortunately by one of the aspirants, the former governor of the state, Timipre Sylva, who said to my face and to the committee that we could not leave the venue of the conference unless we conducted the exercise without accreditation, as prescribed by the national secretariat.”

Oshiomhole wondered why the former governor insisted on his own position rather than that prescribed by the national leadership of the APC. He said,

“Whereas all the aspirants agreed with the guidelines, it was only Sylva that did not. He rejected the mode of accreditation and chose to accuse the national secretariat of formulating the guidelines to frustrate his ambition. 

“Every effort made to reassure him and direct his attention to the fact that same guidelines had been used (before) and that they are standard guidelines that would be used in future elections fell on deaf ears.” 

Oshiomhole quoted Sylva to have said, “We cannot leave the place unless we are ready to conduct the election without recourse to accreditation – as stipulated by the party.”

The governor, however, maintained that, “I was not in a position to amend the guidelines, nor was I ready to submit to his intimidation.”

He said it became clear to him that he (Sylva) had mobilised thugs in collusion with the police, and that the thugs found their way into the stadium – without accreditation.

Oshiomhole added that the thugs “insisted that we must conduct the election based on their own rules.” He also accused the police of compromise as Sylva insisted that the state executive must conduct the election and not the national body.