By Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa
The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday began its campaign for the November 16 governorship election in Bayelsa State.
The campaign was held at Ogbia, the local government area of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege, APC National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole, Minister of State for Petroleum Chief Timipre Sylva and three governors elected on the platform of the party, said it was time for the APC to take over the governance of the state because Governor Seriake Dickson had performed poorly.
The three governors, who were at the event attended by thousands of party faithful, are the governors of Kebbi State, Abubakar Bagudu; Plateau State, Simon Lalong and Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje.
The crowd cheered the presentation of the party’s flag to the governorship candidate, Chief David Lyon, by Oshiomhole and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC).
Before the rally, Sylva led the team to the secretariat of the Ogbia Brotherhood, a unifying association of all Ogbia people, where the APC leaders and their entourage were received by the Ogbia King and other traditional rulers of various communities in the kingdom.
Oshiomhole, Omo-Agege, Lyon and others were decorated in traditional war outfits by the brotherhood, who prayed for them and blessed them ahead of the poll.
At the campaign rally, Omo-Agege told the crowd that the APC and its candidate had won the election already following the failure of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to develop the state.
He said despite huge revenue that accrued to the state in the past seven years under Governor Seriake Dickson, there was nothing on ground to justify such amount of money.
Said he: “David Lyon is the winner. All the reasons why David Lyon will win this election have been advanced. We want change. We heard our former governor tell us that in the last eight years of Dickson’s administration, he received N1.6trn for Bayelsa.
Read Also: Bayelsa polls: Who succeeds Dickson?
“As we came in we didn’t see anything good on ground. Their time is over. Let them step aside and let a person who will help the people of Bayelsa step in. For a change, we have a home-grown leader, someone that has been investing his personal money where he lives.
“Our incoming governor is here with us. He is not an Abuja man. He has invested his money here. On November 16, vote for the APC and as you are doing so, know that you have the support of President Muhammadu Buhari, our party leadership, senators and the House of Representatives.”
Sylva said the APC carefully chose Ogbia to launch its camp because oil was first struck in commercial quantity in the kingdom in 1966 and since then the area had brought good tidings to the country.
Reeling out the failures of the PDP in Ogbia and the entire state, he said: “The PDP, which is the leading opposition party, has been in power continuously in Bayelsa State. Today, we have a governor for almost eight years. In the eight years, he has received over N1.6tn. But as we speak, all of you know literally Bayelsa State is in darkness.
“The gas turbine that was started by our father, Chief Melford Okilo, continued by Goodluck Jonathan, continued by myself, is today dead. Ogbia land that used to have electricity back in the 90s is retrogressing instead of progressing, because of the will of one man.
“The only thing that the PDP has done and Seriake Dickson has continued to talk about as an achievement is the so-called airport which has caused this state an undisclosed amount. I said an undisclosed amount because he said N80bn, then we found out that it has cost up to a 100bn, and we attacked him, but he said it was N60bn. But even if it is N60bn that will remain the most expensive airport ever built.
“What I always tell my friend Governor Dickson, the challenge I always put before him is that he is not landing at the airport. I say let him land there, since he has an airport, so that we too can land there. But we still see him at the Port Harcourt airport dragging with us, and he has built an airport here with billions.
“There is one road that since he became the governor, he has been trying to expand, the Isaac Boro Road. For eight years, no new road, the road is being expanded for eight years. Even the water pipe that we put here, he dug them out. Yenagoa is one of the state capitals, if not the only one in Nigeria that still depends on vendors for water.”
Sylva said the APC was bringing development, empowerment and security to the state through its candidate, adding that under Dickson, security deteriorated with kidnapping, robberies and killings the order of the day.
He said: “I want to tell you that in the first 100 days of Lyon, Bayelsa State would have been secured already. I want to assure you that David Lyon will give you jobs. Governor Seriake Dickson has been trying to do Elebele Road. He said he has spent N30bn but has he finished the road? Which time has Dickson inaugurated one road?
“The very interesting thing about Dickson’s governance is that all the projects he is doing, we don’t even know the contractor, even the airport project. It is only Ewrujakpor and Senator Douye Diri that know the contractors. They do everything by themselves. They don’t empower anybody. Point to anybody in Bayelsa State that has been empowered by Dickson, except his family members.”
Oshiomhole said Dickson and his party were notorious for violence. He recalled the shooting spree that led to the impeachment of the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Tonye Isenah.
He said President Buhari asked the party leaders to present David Lyon to the people of the state, adding that the candidate was a replica of the biblical David.
He said: “They call him Lyon by birth, and they also call him David, am sure many of you are Christians, you know what David can do. This David and this Lyon will protect and guide the security of these Bayelsa people. This David, this Lyon, even before now has employed a lot of youths. We will join forces with him, to protect national asset.
“When you look at him, he looks like an Irish Reverend Father, cool, calculated, trimmed, simple, humble and down to earth. By the special grace of God, even you the people of Bayelsa State, his election will be an example of how a man rises from a deprived community, suffers through the deprivation of life, and be empowered by his people, to govern for the good of all.
David will not betray those who stand by him, in moment like this, and that is all of you here. David acknowledges that Bayelsans have produced great people like Melford Okilo, he also has admiration for Jonathan, the former president of this great country, he acknowledges all those who have come from this part, who has experienced leadership.
“So, I assure you that this one will carry the youth along. This David will labour for the Bayelsa women, this David will respect his elders and will provide for the needy, he understands the language of poverty, and the deprivation this state went through, that’s why he sticks out his neck to fight.
“We have come to make a difference and that is why we are a party of change. Let me conclude by thanking all of you that have come under this sun at a short notice.” Sylva reminded them of other developmental challenges.
“One of the things we are going to do before the campaign closes is to pay a visit to that airport and invite the governor to give us account of how much he spent. All of us we will go to the control tower and manage air traffic and insist that he must take a plane and fly out of the airport because Bayelsa people didn’t deserve a white elephant project, especially in the midst of all the deprivations that we have seen”.
He asked the people to vote for Lyon and ensure their votes are counted, boasting that by God’s grace, the APC would win at the end of the exercise.
Receiving the party’s flag, Lyon said he and his team would serve the people of the state against the culture of leaders being served by the people.
He promised to end the darkness in the state, create wealth, end insecurity and manage the resources of the state efficiently.
In their remarks, the governors appealed to the people to elect the APC and align the state to the mainstream politics at the centre.
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