By Samuel Oyadongha

Yenagoa—Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Valentine Ntomchuckwu, has warned against acts capable of igniting violence and political assassinations, ahead of party primaries and the 2015 general elections.

The Commissioner of Police, who spoke at a meeting with leaders of political parties in the state, urged them to provide a level playing field for contestants and guard against inflammatory statements to avoid violence in the state.

Present at the meeting were the State Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Col. Sam Inokoba (rtd); the Vice Chairman of All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr.Chris Alagoa and Chairman of the state chapter of Conference of Political Parties, CNPP, Mr.Lucky Akpeli, among others.

Addressing the leaders of the political parties, the commissioner said the political processes of the coming elections should not be a “do-or-die affair.”

He said: “There must be losers and winners. It is only when we are alive that we can contest elections. Political violence must not be instigated. Election is not a game but a process and it must be credible. We must sustain our democracy by playing according to the rules. Lack of level playing ground, injustice and inflammatory statements will lead to political violence and political assassinations.”

The command, he warned, would not tolerate any breach of peace in the state.

In their remarks, Col. Inokoba (retd) and Mr.Alagoa, commended the Police for the initiative and promised to contribute to the existing peace in the state.

Col. Inokoba said though the present PDP administration in the state had maintained peaceful disposition to good governance, the warning against possible violence should be handed to aspirants of other political parties.

He said: “Aspirants should be cautioned. Let them work with the fear of God. Power belongs to God. If you don’t work with God, you will fail and pay dearly for it. We should not embark on anything that will lead to spilling of blood.”

Also speaking, representative of APC in the state, Chris Alagoa, assured that members of his party will play according to the rules of the game so as not to create confusion in the polity.