August 1 Hunger Protest: APC Baylesa Directs All Members To Shun Protest.

 

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Bayelsa State chapter, has called on all its party members at  the various levels  in the state to shun the proposed nationwide protest slated for August 1.

Speaking during a press briefing in Yenagoa, Tuesday night, the state party chairman,  Dennis Otiotio,  maintained that there was need for the party in the state to address issues concerning the proposed nationwide protest and also reply to the press conference by the governor of Bayelsa State.

He stated that APC was against any form of protest in the state, stressing that the party will be mobilizing all their members to stage a solidarity rally to support the government and policies of President Bola Tinubu.

He said: "We want to emphatically state that as a party, we are against the proposed nationwide protest. Not because people does not have the right to protest but right to protest ends where the other people's right begins. We believe that people protesting must protest within the arm beat of the law. 

"In this particular protest, we have been briefed by the security agencies that the ultimate objective of the organizers of this protest is to undemocratically change government. They are poised to change the government of President Tinubu by undemocratic means."

"This is why we are calling all our members and all Bayelsans to shun this planned protest because we believe that the organizers of the protest doe/ not have good intentions and they have refused to identify themselves. We don't know who are the people organizing it but security report indicates that these are people who contested the 2023 Presidential election and failed, and are now using this medium to truncate our democracy."

"So we have resolved as a party from the ward level, local government level and at the state level to shun this protest because it is not in the interest of Nigeria, it is not in the interest of Bayelsa State. We are mobilizing all our members tomorrow to stage a solidarity rally to support the government and policies of President Bola Tinubu."

Reacting on the feud between  Governor Douye Diri and Sylva as regards to the protest, Otiotio said it is unfortunate for the incumbent governor to use the government apparatus to begin to level false allegation against the party and against Sylva. 

"We are aware that there is bad governance in Bayelsa State as a result of perennial mismanagement of the huge resources that is accrued to the state both at the local government level and at the state level. You can see that there is underdevelopment in Bayelsa State, since after the November governorship election, there is no project going on in the state. Nothing is being done in the state."

"However, protest is not the solution to that problem. We do not believe that because there is bad governance in the state, we have to resort to protest against the government. No, we are democrats, we are progressives and we believe in rule of law. We will not use protest to take over government, we will not use protest to destabilize the Bayelsa State government."

"I think that is one area we are in agreement with the PDP government of Bayelsa State that there should be no protest. I hope the governor is sincere when he said people should not protest because we are sincere and we are ready to sanction any of our member that participates in the proposed nationwide protest. We don't believe that protest will alleviate the sufferings of the masses."