Ahead of the December 5 governorship elections in Bayelsa State, political
\nheavyweights in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) including ex-President
\nGoodluck Jonathan and former governor of the state, Chief Diepreye
\nAlamieyeseigha have endorsed the re-election of Governor Seriake Dickson.<\/p>\n
The party leaders including PDP acting National Chairman, Prince Uche
\nSecondus and former chairman, PDP Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih,
\nwho spoke during its stakeholders meeting and dinner in Yenagoa, stressed
\nthat realities on ground clearly show that the present administration was
\ndoing well in the state.<\/p>\n
Others who delivered goodwill messages at the event include Secretary, PDP
\nBoard of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin; Vice Chairman of the party, South
\nSouth, Dr Cairo Ojougboh and Wing Commander Peter Biakpara.<\/p>\n
Senator Foster Ogola, Hon. Douye Diri, Air Vice Marshal Larry Koinyan
\n(Retd) and King Amalate Turner, the Paramount Ruler of Opume in Ogbia
\nLocal Government Area of the state also endorsed Dickson.The meeting was
\nalso attended by PDP chieftains including Senator Stella Omu,
\nDirector-General, PDP Governors Forum, Osaro Onaiwu; House of
\nRepresentatives member from Taraba, Hon. Rima Shawalu, his Plateau state
\ncounterpart, Hon. Solomon Maren and the Secretary of PDP South South Zone
\namong others.<\/p>\n
Addressing the party faithfuls, Jonathan said that contrary to media
\nreports and speculations, the PDP, which has been in control of the state
\nsince its inception in 1999, still has what it takes to win the
\nforthcoming governorship election convincingly.<\/p>\n
He said though some members of the party defected to the opposition All
\nProgressives Congress, the PDP family would not lose sleep over the
\ndevelopment as it remains united and strong in its resolve to clinch
\nvictory in the December 5th polls.<\/p>\n
Jonathan, who promised to attend a rally where Governor Dickson is
\nexpected to publicly declare his intention to seek re-election on Tuesday
\nthis week, however, advised the defectors to retrace their steps back to
\nthe PDP.<\/p>\n
He said, “We are here because what is happening in Bayelsa State now is
\nsimilar to what happened in the state in 2003 when my boss then, Chief
\nDiepreye Alamieyeseigha was to contest his second tenure. A number of
\npeople went to Abuja and threw up all kinds of stories.<\/p>\n
“People may go to Abuja and say all kinds of things but the PDP in Bayelsa
\nis very strong. We are committed and we will win our election. Few people
\nmight have left but the party is still strong and united. Well, we will
\ncontinue to talk to our brothers and sisters because politics is all about
\nconsensus building.It is not a one man business.”<\/p>\n
Prince Uche Secondus urged members of the party not to entertain any fears
\nthat the elections would be rigged, stressing that the National Working
\nCommittee and other organs of the party would put in all necessary
\nmachinery to ensure a free and fair electoral
\nprocess.<\/p>\n
He also assured aspirants who are jostling for the party’s ticket of the
\nPDP national leadership’s resolve to conduct a credible and zero expenses
\nprimaries in the state and thereafter support the successful candidate to
\nrun an effective electioneering campaigns in all the nooks and crannies of
\nthe state.<\/p>\n
Quoting the holy Bible, the PDP chairman urged Bayelsans not to repay the
\nparty that provided the platform for their son and brother as the first
\nminority to emerge president in the political history of the country with
\nevil by voting for any of the opposition parties in the forthcoming
\ngovernorship election.<\/p>\n
Secondus said, “We have what it takes to mount enough pressure on the
\nFederal Government in such a way that INEC cannot rig you out. Not even
\nthe police can do that because the police and army belong to the Federal
\nGovernment and not the APC. So they cannot be used to rig you out.<\/p>\n
“The Director-General of the State Security Service, Lawal Daura, has
\nshown that he is a member of APC and he is serving out the APC agenda but
\nwe’ve warned that we are running out of patience. The President should
\ncall Daura to order. Hence when we move on the streets, theinternational
\ncommunity will see that the APC-led Federal Government has anti-democratic
\ntendencies. And that should be stopped.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ahead of the December 5 governorship elections in Bayelsa State, political heavyweights in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) including ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and former governor of the state, Chief Diepreye…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n