Barely a week after the victory of Bayelsa state governor, Senator Douye Diri at the Supreme Court last Tuesday, the governor has rejected the congratulatory message of Chief Ndutimi Alaibe, describing it as half hearted.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the action of Chief Alaibe, who was an aspirant in the September 3, 2019 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary, Senator Diri said the former Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) went too far in his bid to unseat him.
He spoke publicly for the first time since the apex court’s ruling while addressing the State Working Committee of the PDP, which paid him a solidarity visit in Government House, Yenagoa.
A statement by his acting chief press secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, quoted the governor as describing Alaibe’s statement issued by his personal assistant, Enize Ogio, as insulting and totally unacceptable.
Diri noted that in line with the Supreme Court judgement, nobody is bigger than the party, including himself.
He wondered why an internal process like the primary election, which was transparent and guided by the party’s constitution, was dragged to court.
His words: “It was an internal party affair, which ordinarily should not have gone beyond the shores of our state.”
“We had a very transparent process, which was acknowledged across the country. From the nomination of delegates down to the primaries, everything was done according to the constitution of our party.
“I hereby reject that insulting message from one Enize Ogio. I hereby reject it in totality, and the PDP rejects it too.”
