By Samuel Oyadongha

Yenagoa—Barely 24 hours after loyalists of the former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, unveiled the secretariat of All Progressives Congress, APC, in Yenagoa, the party, yesterday, accused Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, of hiring suspected thugs and policemen to dismantled its flags and signposts.

But the state Publicity Secretary of PDP, Mr. Osom Macbere, dismissed the accusation, describing same as “unfounded” and “attempt to throw the state into crises.”

He said that no PDP member would  go to APC secretariat and urged APC to settle its factional crisis instead of pointing accusing fingers at others.

The Sylva loyalists, through APC state Interim Secretary, Mr. Godwin Sidi, alleged that a vehicle carrying five suspected thugs, including two policemen, stormed the secretariat of the party at 2am and pulled down the flags of the party at gun point.

Sidi described the alleged act as undemocratic, unconstitutional and atrocious.

The interim secretary alleged that he received telephone calls from private security guards of the party’s secretariate that some plain clothes policemen stormed the secretariat in the early hours of Thursday and dismantled all the party flags and sign posts and took them  to an unknown destination.

Contacted on telephone, the state PDP Publicity Secretary, Macbere, said though he was not aware of the incident, “no PDP member in the state will go near APC secretariat. No credible PDP member will commit such act. Instead, let these APC people settle their internal wranglings. We are law abiding people and will never resort to such act.”
Meanwhile, another parallel secretariat of APC has been opened in Yenezue-Epie suburb of the state capital, fuelling speculation of a divided party in Bayelsa.

The parallel secretariat, it was learnt was opened by a former chairman of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state, Chief Tiwe Orunimegha, a close friend of  Sylva.

Orunimeghe was allegedly sacked as council chairman by the administration of Governor Seriake Dickson over alleged misconduct.