ALAIBE RAISES ALARM OVER MISCREANTS ACTIVITIES IN BAYELSA

By NBF News

The governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Bayelsa, Mr. Ndutimi Alaibe has raised the alarm over the violent dimension the ongoing voters' registration is assuming in Bayelsa State with the sponsorship of those he labelled 'miscreants' to disrupt the exercise in Bayelsa communities.

Alaibe, speaking through the Director-General of his campaign organisation, Mr. Inatimi Spiff, a former senator, said they had uncontroverted proof that non-residents had been moved into the communities to cause confusion, adding that their action was capable of igniting crisis and rubbish the exercise.

According to him, some of those involved in the act were arrested in Odi and Kaiama, Kolokuma/ Opokuma Local Government Area and handed over to the police.

Also, one Bernand Ebikefe was reportedly shot in Sagbama, Sagbama Local Government Area of the state while trying to resist the registration of those described as political hired mercenaries.

He commended the gallantry efforts of Bayelsa youths at frustrating the motive of the hoodlums, which had led to the seizure of three voters' registration cards and national identity card belonging to one of the miscreants.

Alaibe also alleged that at Ondewari community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state, residents were only registered without being allowed to thumbprint. He therefore called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to investigate the matter.

In a related development, he has also called on INEC to review the exercise and consider an extension to cater for those who were yet to register.

Alaibe, who noted that most of the riverrine communities in the state were just receiving the Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines said INEC might need to add some days to ensure that every eligible voter was captured.

Also, the leader of the Network of Freedom Fighters in the region, Mr. Nengi James has expressed concern over the challenges noticed in the voters' registration.

'The INEC should urgently improve the situation in the region and coastal areas as the people of the area will never accept to be disenfranchised from the forth coming April, 2011 elections.'

We call on the INEC to extend the time frame of the registration to accommodate every eligible Nigerians to participate in the on-going voters registration exercise, particularly, we the people living in the coastal areas of the region.'