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Police Forced To Take Over Secretariat In Bayelsa State, Remove PDP Chair Col. Sam Inokoba

Col. Sam Inokoba was suspended a fortnight ago by a 13-member State Executive Committee (SEC) of the PDP in the State over allegations of diversion of N40 million Presidential campaign fund, refusal to join in the Bayelsa District PDP campaign tour, and the ordering of his personal security aides to assault a party member during the last PDP primary in the State.

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The leadership tussle rocking the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State deepened Friday following the sealing off of the State Secretariat by armed police, who prevented the suspended Chairman of the Party, Col. Sam Inokoba from assuming office.

Col. Sam Inokoba was suspended a fortnight ago by a 13-member State Executive Committee (SEC) of the PDP in the State over allegations of diversion of N40 million Presidential campaign fund, refusal to join in the Bayelsa District PDP campaign tour, and the ordering of his personal security aides to assault a party member during the last PDP primary in the State.

The State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Barrister Osom Macgbere, who confirmed the increased presence of police, simply said, “all is well. We are okay and no cause for alarm,” to the media.

It was gathered however that the increased presence of policemen was ordered to prevent the embattled State Chairman, Col. Sam Inokoba, from resuming office as the Chairman of the Party.

Inokoba, according sources within the PDP, was scheduled to attend the meeting of the State Working Committee (SWC) of the party and addressed the media on the development within the State PDP, “The state party executives will be holding a meeting today, so the security beefs up is at the instance of the state commissioner of police who has ordered that the ‘suspended’ chairman should not be allowed entrance to the premises.”

“The Commissioner of Police said the Chairman should come and see him in his office for briefing,” one source told SaharaReporters.

The Police Public Relations Officer of the Bayelsa command Asini Butswat, DSP who confirmed the security beef up said the police were only doing their job of providing security at the secretariat to maintain peace. Butswat who described the development as a purely party affair, said the increase security presence is a request from the party secretariat.

The suspended PDP Chairman, Col. Sam Inokoba, in a statement issued yesterday, expressed disappointment over the activities of some of the members of the PDP in the State, describing their actions as a show of desperation.

According to Inokoba, the allegations of suspension order issued against him is a manifestly false and baseless allegation.