Lokpobiri, APC Deny Complicity in Deployment of Police Chiefs in Bayelsa

Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa

Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday, denied influencing the posting and redeployment of at least seven Police Commissioners to Bayelsa in the last three months.

The state government, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and some stakeholders had recently accused the minister, former Governor Timipre Sylva and the APC of using their connections with the powers in Abuja to install their lackey as the police chief in the state to rig next year’s elections.

But reacting through a statement signed by his Media Aide, George Oji, Lokpobiri described the situation as a needless cry of wolf by the PDP and the Bayelsa Government.

The Minister wondered why the PDP was jittery and unsettled over what is otherwise a purely security matter and seeking to score cheap political point out of the issue.

“The Minister is appalled that some unscrupulous politicians and elected political office holders in Bayelsa State instead of facing the serious issues of governance go about maliciously associating his person with the postings going on in the police force.

“ For the avoidance of doubt, the minister wishes to remind these rumour mongers that it is entirely the prerogative of the Inspector General of Police to deal with all matters concerning the posting of senior police officers in the force.

“The Minister is most shocked with Governor Seriake Dickson who as a former police constable ought to be familiar with the fact and practice that the posting of Commissioners of Police to the states are purely the responsibility and prerogative of the Inspector General of Police” the statement said.

According to Lokpobiri, if the complaint of PDP is that in the past three months, eight Commissioners of Police have been posted to Bayelsa State, that is the decision of the police and a question for the force to answer and not anybody else.

On the allegation that the police are targeting the disbandment of the state Doo-akpor security outfit, the minister reminded the ‘rumour mongers’ about the recent directive of the National Security Adviser (NSA) to all the security chiefs in the country to immediately disband all illegal and unauthorised security outfits.

According to Lokpobiri, if there is a directive from the office of the NSA saying that all illegal security outfits should be disbanded and anybody has any complaints against such directives, the person is at liberty to refer their concerns to the appropriate office.

Lokpobiri counselled the PDP to allow the police to do their job, including the deployment and redeployment of the Commissioners of Police, not only in Bayelsa but the whole of the country.

Meanwhile, the APC in Bayelsa State has dismissed as “deliberate and unnecessary insult” to the people a resolution by the State House of Assembly criticising the recent postings of Commissioners of Police to the state.

The APC said in a statement signed by its Spokesman, Mr. Doifie Buokoribo, in Yenagoa that the resolution, which came a few days after Governor Dickson made a similar criticism, showed that the assembly had become a gathering of Dickson’s footmen.

It accused the assembly of mischievously opposing a constitutional security arrangement simply because it denied them the room to repeat the electoral fraud they perpetrated to win the last governorship elections in the state.

“The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State unreservedly condemns the resolution of the State House of Assembly concerning the posting of Police Commissioners to the state. It is a deliberate and unnecessary insult to our collective intelligence.

“By this resolution, the state assembly has shown its complete lack of legislative independence and respect for the rule of law. The assembly has once again proved to be a poodle of Governor Dickson” the statement noted.

The party berated the Bayelsa Assembly for keeping mute during the alleged serial killings in Brass, Amassoma, Yenagoa and wondered why the Assembly suddenly woke up from its slumber.