A chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Mr. Andrew June, has lost his life as the Bayelsa election day draws closer.
The incident has heightened political tension ahead the governorship election with the APC fingering the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the killing.
The Director of Publicity of the Sylva/Igiri Campaign Organization (SICO) Chief Nathan Egba, who confirmed the killing stated the deceased and other chieftains of the APC were attacked at Toru-Gbene enroute Oweigbene in Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state.
He stated that people suspected to be thugs of the PDP ambushed the APC chieftains and attacked them with machete cuts leaving several of them injured.
Investigations revealed that they were rushed to Ojobo General Hospital in Burutu local government of Delta where June later died as a result of loss of blood.
As stated by Egba in a statement, other chieftains of the party are receiving treatment in different hospitals while the body of June has been deposited in the morgue at Ojobo.
He further alleged that PDP supporters in Otuan in Southern Ijaw local government have been shooting sporadically to intimidate APC members.
Egba stated APC buildings and billboards were destroyed in the community ahead the visit of the APC governorship candidate, former Governor Timipre Sylva.
He disclosed that a petition has been sent to the Commissioner of Police to probe the attack on APC members and bring the perpetrators to book.
The APC has therefore called on Governor Seriake Dickson to respect the peace accord he signed by calling on his supporters to order and avoid further bloodshed.
However, in a swift reaction, the Bayelsa Restoration Campaign Organization (BYRCO) has dismissed the allegation noting that the party has never been involved in violence.
BYRCO stated the APC claims are tissues of lies, noting that every discerning Bayelsan knows that it is the APC that has been attacking PDP members.