In Bayelsa state, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state has continued to suffer heavy political tsunami. There has been frightening membership depletion in a fashion that is not only worrisome but unprecedented in the history of the PDP in the state. Joy Emmanuel writes.
In the last few weeks no day has gone by without witnessing the defection or resignation of either a high profile politician or an appointee of government from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the state gets prepared for the forthcoming governorship polls.
At the moment, Governor Seriake Dickson, leader of the PDP in the state, is said to have been ruffled by the development. The situation has become so dicey that the governor has become fearful. Most worrisome is the fact that he is now suspicious of the remnants of his foot soldiers as those who dined with him in the morning would tender their resignation letters in the afternoon and defect to the APC in the evening.
SSG, Chief Of Staff, LG chairmen under pressure to quit PDP
Feelers reaching Blueprint suggest that PDP’s political woes are far from over. Compounding the party’s turbulent waters ahead of the next month’s governorship election is the wide speculation that there are pressures on some of the remaining key players in the PDP to quit and join the opposition party.
Those facing pressure includes the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Barrister Kemela Okara, the Chief of Staff, Government House, Barrister Talford Ongolo and some of the newly elected local government chairmen.
According to our checks, Okara is being pressurized by external forces from members of his former party, the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), who have now metamorphosed into the APC, to come and join them. The national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a known Okara’s political godfather, is said to be leading the talks with SSG.
Also, the chief of staff is being reportedly put under pressure by the ex-militants and his kinsmen in Southern Ijaw local government to come over to the APC to work for the victory of their son, Chief Lyon. It was learnt former militants from the Southern Ijaw extraction are bent on delivering the APC governorship candidate and that they now consider any notable son of the LGA who refuses to go their direction as their archrival. Similarly, it was gathered that pressures are mounting on the local government chairmen by their relatives to declare their support for the APC candidate having read the hand writing on the wall that the PDP may not survive the surging popularity of the APC flagbearer at the polls.
Already, there is the speculation that seven, out of the eight local government chairmen newly elected under the platform of the PDP, have being at nocturnal discussions with David Lyon with a view to working with him, and eventually being retained, if Lyon is elected.
Aides waiting for October ‘pay-off’ before quitting
Some have claimed that some appointees are just buying time to get the October salaries, which most of them have tagged as ‘pay-off’ cash, before porting to the opposition APC ahead of the polls. Political appointees who are said to have been financially suffocated by the Dickson-led restoration government before now are reportedly waiting to take their pound of flesh out the Toru-Orua born politician come November 16 when Bayelsans shall file out to choose their next governor.
Though Governor Dickson is not the flagbearer of the PDP, his desperation to get his preferred candidate succeeds him, has made it look like it is Dickson versus the opposition. Some alleged Dickson rolled out all his arsenal of incumbency to foist Douye Diri and his running mate on the party without recourse to the dangerous implication of such action in a party where you have personalities such as a former president whose advice ought to have been sought.
We will win -APC
Meanwhile, members of the opposition APC are expressing confidence that they would win the election convincingly. At a rally organised by APC stakeholders in Yenagoa local government area, chieftains of the party took Dickson alleged that the governor has made insecurity, hunger, darkness and underdevelopment, the lots of the people.
Former deputy and acting governor, Chief Werinipre Seibarugu said, “there is one man in government house, instead of providing good drinking water so that our people will not fall sick, he is building hospitals. This time, we are going to vote for freedom; freedom from hunger, freedom from darkness, freedom for good drinking water.”
Also, the Bayelsa central senatorial candidate of the APC during the last general election, Famous Doumiebi, who represented David Lyon at the rally, alleged that the state government is stockpiling arms and fake Army uniforms in government house in a bid to perpetrate electoral violence during the polls.
“David Lyon specifically asked me to tell the people of Yenagoa local government area that he is sad whenever there is gridlock on our roads in the state capital because there are no alternative roads. He said when his government comes in on February 14, 2020, he will give priority attention to the gateway road, coming from Igbogene to Elebele and the other one coming from Igbogene again, the bypass, to government house.
“He asked me to tell you that Yenagoa will be opened up and that he will not abandone but complete all projects started by previous administrations provided they will be beneficial to Bayelsans.”
Speaking in his own capacity as a stakeholder of the party, Doumiebi said “I want to charge all our members in Yenagoa local government and Bayelsans in general that in this election, we are going to group the PDP as an opposition party in this state.
“This is because politics is a game of number and today in APC, we have the number. The people are with us. Do not allow any body to intimidate you. For the security architecture in Bayelsa state, this is the aspect I want to be held responsible, particularly with the police famation.
“I had an encounter with the Commissioner of Police Thursday night and he is aware and I want to say it here and now. Few days ago, we were having a meeting at Udeme Hotel; thugs loyal to the PDP went and disrupted the meeting. Those boys shoot some of our supporters.
“He did not take any of them to court. I want him to hear this because I have assured him that I will take that matter to the inspector general of police. The state commissioner of police is behaving like a PDP card-carrying member but we are going to let him know that we are Bayelsans and we cannot be intimidated.
“If he is having any allegiance with Seriake Dickson and his restoration caucus, l advised him to retrace his steps. Instead of taking those who shot our supporters to court, he made a kangaroo arrangement and wanted to take one of our boys to court. Thank God he heeded our call and the boy was released. We are ready for them. If they want it by sea, we will give it to them by sea, if they want it by land, we will give it to them by land.”
We Are Not Losing Sleep –PDP
But the PDP in the state says it is not perturbed by the gale of high profile defections hitting the party hard preparatory to the election. The PDP state publicity secretary, Makbere Osom, said in Yenagoa: “the gale of defections is not an issue at all. Change is one of the most fundamental things in life. Talking about the high profile persons that are leaving the party, who is a high profile voter?
“Everybody is entitled to just one vote. Most people claim that when they are leaving the party, they are leaving with thousands of people. The reality is that nobody leaves the PDP with anybody; nobody leaves the APC with anybody. Human decisions might be so transitive but that anytime you move you must move with people is what I doubt.
“Let me tell you something about politics and the dynamics that we have seen. The defecting of people leads to the making of new leaders. If Mr ‘A’ feels so important and he defects, immediately, Mr ‘B’ fills his place. Politics does not allow a vacuum. So, nobody is a high profile person in any of the political parties. Although, by way of campaign propaganda, we always say we are leaving with thousands. Nobody moves with thousands of people.”
