JONATHAN, WIFE TO MAKE FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE

Ondo State governor and Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, Dr. Olusegun
Mimiko, will lead 12 other governors to attend the formal declaration of
Bayelsa State governor, Henry Seriake Dickson, for a second term in
office on Tuesday, September 8.
It was learnt that activities for the event have reached its peak in
Yenagoa, the state capital.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan,
will also grace the event as their first public appearance since they left
office in May.
Sources said, the governors who are mainly those of the PDP extraction,
will arrive in Yenagoa, the state capital, on Monday September 7 to hold
a crucial meeting of the PDP Governors scheduled to take place in the
Government House.
The meeting will precede the formal declaration where some far-reaching
decisions are expected to be taken not only about the current situation in
the party as it repositions for the future but also on the common agenda
for the governor’s declaration and success of his campaign.
Already, the Director-General of the PDP Governors Forum, Earl Osaro
Onaiwo, has been sighted at the Government House in Yenagoa on Sunday
where he is holding meeting with key government officials to finalise
arrangements for the PDP governors’ meeting on Monday.
“From the look of things, the PDP governors are set to storm Yenagoa in
full force. You know Bayelsa State holds a lot of significance for the PDP
as a political party. It is not just a state to be retained but you will
also realize that it is the home state of the former President Goodluck
Jonathan. So there is so much at stake and they are determined to make the
governor’s declaration a show of its own. I think the PDP governors want
to send out a strong signal of their readiness to keep Bayelsa firmly in
the grip of the PDP and as such their presence will be felt on Tuesday in
Yenagoaâ€, said the source.
However, another source hinted on Sunday that it was still not clear if
Dame Patience Jonathan will be at the event but pointed out that both the
former First Lady and her husband were fully behind the re-election of the
governor.
Activities at the headquarters of the Restoration Campaign Organisation,
the governor’s campaign body, in Opolo area of the state capital were
also in top gear on Sunday as officials said they were ready for the
campaign.
An official at the campaign office, Samuel Beke, said all arrangements
have been concluded to begin a state-wide campaiggn and confident that
Dickson will be re-elected.
According to him, the thrust of the campaign would be the “great
achievements†of the governor and the need for continuity.