Bayelsa: Ijaw leaders, PDP back Dickson’s re-election

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A socio-political organisation under the aegis of Ijaw Patriots for Good Governance (IPGG) has concluded arrangements to mobilise support for the re-election of Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, beginning with his formal declaration on September 8.
The election in the South-South state holds on December 5.
Members of IPGG include Ijaw leaders in Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states
A statement on Sunday by the spokesperson of the group, Prof. Samuel Belekumo-Adari, after a meeting in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State said the Ijaw leaders unanimously agreed to throw their full weight behind Dickson’s re-election because of his track record of performance as well as his credentials.
According to him, Dickson remains “the only governor who has succeeded in projecting, propagating and defending the Ijaw national interest within the context of a united and egalitarian Nigeria”.
While stating that Dickson stands head and shoulder above any of the contestants who have so far indicated interest to contest the 2015 governorship election in the South-South state, Belekumo-Adari urged all Bayelsans and the Ijaw people to come out and support him.
He said: “It is an aberration for any true son of Ijaw land to align with the APC at this time. This election is clearly not about Dickson as a person but about us as Ijaw people and what we want the world to think of us. That is why, as leaders and respected Ijaw elders drawn from all the states in the Niger Delta, we are appealing to our people to rally round the governor at this time to enable him return as governor for the second time. He has done so well and it is only proper to give him total support to continue the good work he has been doing and even do more to our delight as a people.”
The statement further called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take every step necessary to ensure that the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states, which will be the first to be conducted under his watch as president, are conducted in a manner that will strengthen public confidence for his administration and that of democratic process in the nation.
The leaders observed that already “there are glaring infractions going by reports in the media that President Buhari is tacitly giving support to his fellow APC members in Kogi and Bayelsa states.”
They also claimed unconfirmed reports that “the Federal Government is set to deploy federal might to aid his party to win the elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states.”
The Ijaw leaders said: “For instance, we are reliably informed that some elements of the APC in Bayelsa State are dropping the name of President Buhari to intimidate heads of security agencies in the state and INEC officials to do the bidding of the APC in the forthcoming governorship elections.
“We are calling on the president to look into these allegations urgently. He cannot afford to look the other way or pretend not to know that his name is being dropped to commit atrocities. The least he can do is to ensure that a level-playing field is provided for all contestants”.
Meanwhile, the state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has denied a report that more of its members are planning to leave the party for the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).
A socio-political movement, Bayelsa Great House, was reported to have said that the former state chairman of PDP, Col. Sam Inokoba (rtd), who recently defected to the APC, was wooing other key leaders of the ruling party to join him in the APC.
But in a statement on Sunday, State Secretary of the PDP in Bayelsa State, Hon. Keku Godspower, said such claim was false as the leadership and members of the party were solidly behind Dickson and committed to his re-election.
According to him, Inokoba does not have the political strength or leadership acumen ascribed to him in the report to swing the support of PDP members for the APC, describing him and others who left the party as selfish individuals who were all along engaged in anti-party activities.
He stated: “We wish to state categorically that contrary to a newspaper report, no member of the Bayelsa State Working Committee or the purported non-working committee and the generality of our members across the state were considering leaving the party.
“We want to make it abundantly clear that contrary to the propaganda, all the organs of the party at all levels are intact and are fully behind the re-election of Governor Dickson. Inokoba and his phantom Bayelsa Great House are political charlatans who will be disgraced in due time.”
Keku berated Inokoba for arrogating to himself political powers and influence, he said, he did not possess, noting that he (Inokoba) cannot win his ward and as such, leaving the PDP was good riddance.
“All the while he held sway as chairman of the PDP, members of our party were always complaining of his poor leadership style. We were merely managing him until he was fingered in corruption and anti-party activities. We always knew that he was a mole for the opposition and, therefore, we were not surprised he acted the way he did. His leaving the party has no effect whatsoever on the PDP as time will soon tell. Instead, it is a blessing”, he stated.
He also clarified the reported resignation of a former Special Adviser to the governor, Rufus Abadi, to join the APC, saying it was a cheap propaganda to mislead the public.
He said the former adviser in question had earlier been sacked and replaced but only rushed to the radio station to announce his resignation which, he said, smacked of mischief.
“The said special adviser, who only few days ago rushed to the radio station to announce his resignation, did so after he was sacked and replaced by Hon. Austin Adigio as the substantive Special Adviser on Inter-governmental Affairs. His action was mere mischief but we can understand,” he stated.

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