Chief Ayibaina Duba, the Commissioner for Information, Orientation, and Strategy in Bayelsa, has called on political gladiators to stop playing the war drum in the state, claiming that it discourages people from using their franchise.
Duba spoke against the background of a poor voter turnout in Bayelsa’s governorship election on Saturday. According to INEC data, just 54,380 of the 218,394 registered voters in Yenagoa Local Government Area (LGA) participated in the election.
Duba, who spoke on Sunday at his country house in the Nedugo village of Yenagoa LGA, believes that political players may have instilled fear in the voters, preventing them from voting, particularly non-indigenous people.
However, he rated the accreditation and voting processes as flawless, claiming that there was no wait in unit 12, ward 7, where he voted.
“I urge political actors not to sound the war drums in advance of elections.” “Let us be civil in what we say and cautious in what we say so that people are not afraid,” Duba remarked.