Bayelsa Governor, Henry Dickson, has accused the Nigeria AGIP Oil Company of outsourcing terrorism to the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief David Lyon, through pipeline security and surveillance contracts.

He alleged that some oil firms were giving out surveillance contracts to bandits in the oil producing communities.

Dickson stated this recently in Lagos when he spoke with editors on political happenings in the state, especially the gubernatorial election scheduled for November.

He said oil firms were exhibiting a mafia like grip on oil producing communities with the target of crushing any kind of resistance to their activities by aggrieved members of host communities.

According to him, those who have been awarded surveillance contracts, some of the projects estimated to be worth N1billion per month, are operating as a parallel government.

Dickson accused some of the contractors of engaging criminals to perpetrate heinous crimes against the oil bearing communities, including maiming and killing of persons who disagree with their activities.He said that some people had been maimed and killed in a grisly manner by the outlaws operating as oil surveillance contractors, just to instill fear in the local communities in the guise of protecting oil facilities in the state.

“What AGIP has done is to outsource terrorism to the so-called candidate of the APC, Chief David Lyon, and I think in the next couple of days when you see some images you will be appalled,” said Dickson.

“The oil companies are giving surveillance contracts to these young boys most of who are outlaws that they are creating, and I have said it several times that they are working towards having a Mafia-like hold in our communities, particularly in Bayelsa State.

“These boys are like a parallel government. One guy has close to N1billion every month and the only thing he does is to look for criminally-minded people to engage, pay them money and use them to maim and kill anybody he disagrees with because that is something AGIP cannot do on its own, so it has outsourced that Mafia-like operations to him.”

He also said that the APC candidate signifies AGIPs boldest land grab through a political attempt to control a strategic state like Bayelsa, which according to him, should be of concern to the country.

He described Lyon as a political rookie who lacks the capacity to preside over the affairs of Bayelsa.

The governor, who also commented on the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the November 16 elections, Sen. Douye Dir, described him as a distinguished Nigerian with a robust record of public service.

He said Diri had served as pioneer national organising secretary of the Ijaw National Congress, executive secretary of the Center for Youth Development under Governor Peter Alamieseigha, commissioner for Youth under Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, principal private secretary, deputy chief of staff under his government, House of Representatives member, and currently a senator. (Daily Sun)

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