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The Office of the Bayelsa State Police Commissioner, Mr. Joseph Mukan, has become an annex of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said.
The Bayelsa State PDP Chairman, Hon. Moses Cleopas, said in a statement on Sunday that APC leaders in the state have now turned the office of the Police Commissioner to their operational political base.
Cleopas lamented that the office of the Police Commissioner which is critical to security maintenance and the preservation of state stability could be so tainted with political bias in Bayelsa.
The PDP Chairman said that the conversion of the office of the Commissioner of Police to the security wing of the APC was the first manifestation of the political mission of the CP, Joseph Mukan, in Bayelsa.
According to him, the opposition APC, in its desperation for political control in the state has started to collude with the Police Commissioner to weaken the security apparatus in the state for selfish political purposes ahead of the 2019 general elections.
Cleopas asserted further that the unholy alliance between the CP and the APC had culminated in an upsurge of cultism in the state.
He said that the action of the Police Commissioner was not unexpected as he was sent to the state to prosecute a dirty political assignment which he stressed would be resisted by the Bayelsa people.
While stating that the Inspector General òf Police has the right to deploy his men, Cleopas queried why Mr Joseph Mukan had been posted to head Bayelsa State Police Command for a record three times, if there was no ulterior motive.
Cleopas posited that effective security in a state was a product of collaborative efforts among the heads of the various agencies and the Governor who is the Chief Security Officer of the State, which Joseph Mukan’s activities have negated.
The PDP Chairman said that a police commissioner whose posting was influenced by the APC and who identifies with the publicity apparatus of the party could not be trusted with the security of Bayelsa.
He said: “We made it clear to Nigerians a few days ago that this particular police commissioner was posted to Bayelsa to intimidate PDP supporters to join APC, destabilize the security and stability of the state for political purposes ahead of the 2019 elections.
This unholy alliance, he stressed, is fueling the upsurge of activities of cultists who are mainly APC members.
“Since he was posted to Bayelsa State, his office has become an annex of the APC headquarters as members of the party have relocated to the command to plan how to destabilise the state by weakening its security.
“Nigerians should Note that this particular CP has been transferred to Bayelsa State for the third time, and we as a party wonder why this particular CP out of the many in this country is the preferred commissioner for Bayelsa?
“The last time he came he was accommodated by APC leaders in Abuja and Yenagoa, Former Governor Timipre Sylva and the Minister of State for Agriculture, Hen. Lokpobiri.
“To us as a party, it is clear that Joseph Mukan lacks the essential ingredients of impartiality required for effective policing in a state like Bayelsa with a multi-party identity.
“What Bayelsa needs is effective security which the Governor has made a priority from inception, not a police commissioner who takes directives from politicians.”