Despite past denials of a feud between former Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson and his successor, Governor Douye Diri, a political group in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has claimed the rift is not yet over.
The group, under the auspices of the Prosperity Vanguard (PV) has debunked all the allegations against Governor Diri by the PDP Stakeholders Forum (PSF), another group allegedly working for Dickson.
The PV in a statement yesterday by its Leader, Daniel Amansintei, alleged that the former governor, now a Senator representing Bayelsa West, unleashed his attack dogs on Diri because he was envious of the rising political profile of the incumbent governor.
Amansintei said those hanging around Dickson were angry that Diri took the bold steps to unify the state, which he claimed Dickson polarised across the ethnic divide of core Ijaw and non-core Ijaw.
He recalled how the entire state celebrated the exit of Dickson with a song, “King Saul has gone home,” because of his tyrannical approach to governance, but said Diri evolved a new leadership style that had united the State even across political divides.
Amansintei said the recent defection of Dickson’s men was propelled by their failure at the primary elections following the decision of Diri that the era of imposing candidates on the people was over.
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He said: “Another thing that is angering Senator Seriake Dickson is the rising profile of Governor Diri, who within his short stay in office has accomplished so much that has endeared him to the people of Bayelsa and outside the state.
“We have long realised that those so-called defectors are prompted by an unimaginable political ego trip at the instance of a self-styled political godfather that promised them automatic tickets.
“Interestingly, they forgot that the era of a political decision by one strongman against strongmen has expired. Their defection has absolutely nothing to do with the lack of capacity to manage the party but rather their illusionary belief in the power of one man’s capacity to move a mountain for them.
“Their defection is in furtherance of their belief that he has the magic wand to make them win in his newfound Social Democratic Party (SDP). We want to use this opportunity to request them to come back to their home base because when they fail the man will abandon them.”
He said members of the PSF were behaving like their paymaster, who was allegedly rescued from penury by former President Goodluck Jonathan and King Amalate Turner but later turned his benefactors to his enemies.
Amansintei said Diri had proved himself a listener, who only took decisions for the best interest of the state, adding that the governor had continued with projects abandoned by his predecessor.
Amansintei said the claims that Diri abandoned Dickson and other defectors were not true, rationalising that most appointees in the current administration served under Dickson.
He said: “The immediate past governor has also on different occasions declared how good Diri has been to him and his family. The spread of Diri’s appointments and open-mindedness are visible to all, very much unlike the previous administration which gave all juicy appointments to a particular LGA, family, and in-laws. Remember facts are sacred.
“The circumstances of the emergence of Douye Diri as Governor necessitated the name ‘Miracle Governor’ just as some people used to call themselves ‘Valentine Governor’. There can indeed be no miracle bigger than Douye Diri’s emergence and that glory cannot be shared with any mortal but the God Almighty, the author, and giver of power”.
He said it was laughable to allege that Diri had abandoned his deputy and wondered how a deputy governor that chaired appointment committees, party primary committee and with no approval limit could be said to have been relegated to the background.