Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson has said we need a viable opposition for democracy to grow and provide the citizenry with good governance.
Dickson spoke yesterday at Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, when he visited to felicitate with Governor Ayo Fayose on his 56th birthday.
He hailed Fayose’s role as ‘opposition leader’, saying Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was pleased with his activities in speaking against alleged infractions against the the rule of law.
Dickson, who spoke when he joined Fayose on a visit to the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe, said Fayose’s criticisms of President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) deepened democracy.
The Bayelsa helmsman said Fayose never made himself opposition leader but his outspokenness and frankness on issues bordering on the rights of the people defined his position in the polity.
Dickson said: “We want to thank Governor Fayose for being the voice of the opposition. He has been the voice of the oppressed in the country and he has become a great party leader. We want our democracy to be protected, because we don’t want a situation whereby governance will be personalised.
“The PDP nurtured democracy in the country for 16 years and we didn’t ride on the opposition. We even lost a major election, which was last presidential election and we accepted our loss.
“So, to us in the PDP, Fayose is doing a good job as the voice of the opposition.”
Speaking on the crisis rocking the PDP in neighbouring Ondo State, Dickson said the party was looking up to the Judiciary to intervene and do justice.
He said: “We plead with the judiciary not to waste time on the cases before it. PDP is strong in Ondo State and in Nigeria.
“It is our prayers that the judiciary will get it right for the PDP’s candidate to be restored before Election Day”.
On the resurgence of violence in the Niger Delta, which resulted in vandalism of oil facilities, Dickson said the governors in the Southsouth are collaborating with the Federal Government to halt the trend.
He advised the Federal Government to show more commitment and understanding “by engaging in dialogue more to resolve the cisis in Niger Delta soon”.