<\/p>\n
…says name-dropping doesn’t translate to delegates in primaries<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State and<\/p>\n
close aide of its leader and ex-governor, Timipre Sylva, has stated that a<\/p>\n
former chairman of Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Timi Alaibe,<\/p>\n
can never become the party\u2019s flag-bearer in the forthcoming elections<\/p>\n
despite dropping the names of some senior citizens.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Alaibe, was said to have been using the names of President Muhammadu<\/p>\n
Buhari and ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo to raise funds in a manner that<\/p>\n
embarrassed the two leaders.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He was also said to have boasted that not even Buhari will stop him from<\/p>\n
clinching the APC ticket because of the support from the national leader<\/p>\n
of the party and former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Alaibe\u2019s aide had on the social media boasted that \u201cAlaibe will most<\/p>\n
certainly emerge as APC candidate in the forthcoming primaries because he<\/p>\n
(Alaibe) has the support and backing of APC national leadership,<\/p>\n
particularly with the solid support of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But Sylva’s aide, Sokari James, told journalists on Wednesday in Yenagoa<\/p>\n
that the former Managing Director of the NDDC will not get the APC<\/p>\n
governorship ticket in the state.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“There is no way the former NDDC Managing Director, Ndutimi Alapbe, will<\/p>\n
get the party\u2019s ticket in the APC primaries scheduled for the second week<\/p>\n
of September.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
His various comments have proved that he can’t make it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“Alaibe is a disappointment because he resorted to name dropping and that<\/p>\n
will not translate to having delegates or winning at the primaries. The<\/p>\n
constant resort to name-dropping by Alaibe does not translate to number of<\/p>\n
delegates on ground that will vote for him in the primaries.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“Timipre Sylva, as leader of APC in Bayelsa State, has control of the<\/p>\n
party structures and he is firmly in charge of all the delegates that will<\/p>\n
vote in the primaries. Our findings have suggested that Sylva will likely<\/p>\n
pick the APC governorship ticket and that is the belief of political<\/p>\n
observers.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
James was categorical that former governor, Timipre Sylva was the<\/p>\n
candidate to beat, stressing that the former governor\u2019s grassroots support<\/p>\n
was unrivalled in the state.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He further said that the clamour for Sylva\u2019s choice was because of the<\/p>\n
importance APC attached to the December 5 election “given the enormous<\/p>\n
clout and power of the incumbent.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According to him, Alaibe had ceased to be a popular politician among the<\/p>\n
grassroots and would be a mistake fielding him as candidate.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cWe cannot, under any guise, use Alaibe as our candidate. We<\/p>\n
cannot afford to surrender our party\u2019s ticket to just anybody. Alaibe is<\/p>\n
no more a grassroots politician. People keep making reference to the past<\/p>\n
when he made attempt to fly the flag of the Labour Party (LP).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“That was then when he could spend so freely as MD of NDDC; but not<\/p>\n
anymore and that\u2019s why he\u2019s busy dropping names here and there. He\u2019s broke<\/p>\n
and we have to face the reality that Alaibe is now a spent force and why<\/p>\n
most of his supporters have also deserted him.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A public affairs commentator, Dr. Kemowei Franklin said, “The battle as to<\/p>\n
who emerges the APC governorship candidate is now a game of wits between<\/p>\n
the camps of Sylva and Alaibe. It’s a dagger drawn affair and will be<\/p>\n
interesting in the weeks ahead.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
…says name-dropping doesn’t translate to delegates in primaries A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State and close aide of its leader and ex-governor, Timipre…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n