Diri advises Sylva against politicising death of soldiers

The Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, on Tuesday, chided the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in the November 11, 2023 governorship election in the state, Timipre Sylva, over his statement on the March 14 killings of 17 military personnel in Okuama, a community in the Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State.

He stated that Sylva’s politicisation of the condemnable killings of soldiers in active service to their country smacked of insensitivity, especially at a time when true patriots were mourning the unfortunate incident.

According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Alabrah, Sylva had in a terse statement credited to him and circulating on social media, claimed that “the last Bayelsa governorship election featured a lot (sic) of disheartening state sponsorship of gunmen. Today, we all see the result of that act of desperation and the unnecessary loss of precious Nigerian lives.”

Diri wondered why the former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources “chose to dance on the graves of the slain soldiers in his false allusion to the use of non-state actors in the governorship poll in the state.”

He also noted that Sylva’s statement was akin to the proverbial pot calling the kettle black when the APC governorship candidate’s antecedents as a politician were “like an open book known to everyone.”

The governor said it is just as ridiculous that the same Sylva was whipping up negative sentiments and spreading falsehood over the presence of soldiers in Igbomotoru, a Bayelsa community, where the military had reportedly extended its investigation into the Okuama incident.

He said, “The military authorities should be allowed to conduct a thorough investigation into the sordid occurrence in Okuama. Comments should be restrained at this time while efforts are on to unravel the perpetrators.

“It is, therefore, very unfortunate and sad that Chief Sylva chose to play politics with the evil act of the killing of Nigerian soldiers at a time patriots in our country were outraged and mourning.

“Introducing politics into the Okuama killing is insensitive just as it is condemnable and akin to dancing on their graves. For those who know, this is like the pot calling the kettle black.

“However, Sylva’s unending bellyaching and whining over the 2023 Bayelsa governorship election does not change the fact that it has been won and lost. He and his ilk should embrace this reality and join hands with our government to further the development of our state.”