By Samuel Oyadongha & Emem Idio, Yenagoa

Some youths leaders under the auspices of Concern Youths of Bayelsa State, have accused the convener and top leaders of NEW Associates, a pro-Wike group led by Mr George Turner of trying to undermine the existing peace in the State.

The NEW Associates is the initials of the names of the Minister of Federal Capital, FCT Abuja and former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike. The Bayelsa State chapter of NEW Associates was formally inaugurated amidst shootings in Yenagoa, weekend during a rally to ppreciate President Bola Tinubu for appointing indigenes of State into positions of authority.

The youth leaders drawn from all the eight local government areas of the state, regretted that the deliberate act by the group to sow seeds of disunity is not only painting the state in a negative light and colour but also attempting to de-market the state to undermine the efforts of daily engendering peace in the state which ranks very high in this regard owing to the conscious efforts of Governor Douye Diri

Addressing a press conference at the NUJ Press Centre in Yenagoa, the youth leaders in a speech read by Mr Tony Ile, warned the group to desist from been used as instruments of chaos to destabilize the state and urge youths in the state to be mindful of them, their group and its antics.

They said: “We wish to therefore express our admiration of Governor Douye Diri bridge building disposition which has made Bayelsans not just politically tolerant but has also led to leaders pursuing a common goal in the interest of our collective development in spite of political party affiliations.

“It is however regrettable to note that some misguided and disgruntled people have in recent weeks under the auspices of a group called “the New Associates” with their activities tried to disturb the peace of our dear state. As concerned youths, we wish to use this briefing to sound a note of warning to Mr. George Turner and his co-travelers and urge them to stop forthwith or take their divisive tendencies to shores far away from our peaceful land of Bayelsa State.

“We wish to use this medium to also caution the former spokesman of the jaw Youth Council, IYC, over his disrespectful and reckless remarks about the person of the Governor and his government on issues of allegedly sending gunmen to disrupt their mushroom gathering.

“The youths of Bayelsa State wish to state that going forward, they will not condone such oral diarrhea and road-side lies which is a mere figment of the imagination of a man coming from fools and dreamers island against the Governor of the jaw nation and that such incessant insults on our father or any other leader by these political neophytes and jobbers will be confronted and resisted by every lawful means.

” ljaw youths will no longer sit, watch or fold their arms and look at these relevance seekers drag our governor or his government’s name to the mud because of the peanut motivated rallies or gatherings that they wish to have or hold. Enough is enough.”

Also speaking a youth leader from Ogbia Local Government Area, Mr. Joshua Amangala, said: “What they did was a charade and it is highly condemnable, it is not something anybody should be proud about, a handful of dissidents have decided to be harmful, running errands for people in strange places knowing that these persons and what they worship is a god of mammon and that god of mammon the interest is power and relevant.

“For us as youths of Bayelsa bayelsa state politically we feel they are not relevant and Bayelsa should not give them any attention as they are interested in stomach infrastructure, they are seeking attention, they are not doing anything because of Bayelsa State but to satisfy their pocket and as Bayelsa youths we are saying no, what they did was an arrangement to cause chaos and pretend like they know nothing but they are the ones that have orchestrated it.

“We are saying no to violence , the governor is a peaceful man and as youth we have said going forward if they continue in this bastardization Bayelsa State will rise up and take them back to where they belong .”