Bayelsa State is currently on edge due to a planned rally by the group ‘The New Associates,’ led by the South South Zonal Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), George Turnah.
The rally, which is scheduled for April 12, 2025, was initially set to feature the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, sparking outrage in the predominantly Ijaw-speaking state.
The controversy was further stoked when the organisers released a new flyer featuring portraits of President Bola Tinubu, Wike, Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil) Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, and Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, seemingly to ease tensions.