Opposition is mounting against Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson in his quest to return to office. Can he swim against the tide and return to the Creek House next year?Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo, examines his chances in this report
It public outings, Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, talks confidently about retaining his plum seat next year without breaking much sweat.
But that may just be a façade after all. Deep down in the governor’s heart, he is worried about the emergence of formidable forces arrayed against his return bid, sources claimed.
Within the governor’s camp, palpable panic seems the order of the day, with many of his loyalists working round the clock to prevent his defeat in the governorship election in the state taking place later this year.
That the governor is confronting a two-dimensional battle – one, within his party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the rejuvenated All Progressives Congress (APC) – makes his bid for another term in office a more herculean task.
Indeed for the first time since the return of democratic rule in 1999, the strangle-like hold of the PDP on the governorship seat is facing a real test from an opposition party, which has taken over the central government for the first time in the nation’s political history.
No thanks to the defeat of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in the March 28 presidential election, opposition parties in Bayelsa, particularly the APC now fancy their chances to upstage the PDP from Creek Haven Government House in Yenagoa, the state capital.
What may have further buoyed this confidence were the unexpected modest victories recorded by the APC and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state and National Assembly elections in the state.
The APC, according to party leaders in Bayelsa, defeated the PDP in about seven constituencies out of the 16 at the poll, but was allegedly shortchanged with the declaration of different results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) acting in connivance with the PDP.
The internal crisis within the PDP has not helped matters. In the last few months, some party stakeholders have been up in arms against the governor over issues that arose from the outcome of the party primaries.
Pitched against the governor are prominent personalities, including the former Senator representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District, Heineken Lokpobiri, his counterpart in Bayelsa Central, Senator Emmanuel Paulker, Senator Ikisikpo, who has since defected to the APC and the former Senior Special Assistant to ex- President Jonathan on Domestic Matters, Wariponmowei Dudafagh, the man believed to be the anointed candidate of former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, to succeed Dickson.
But the governor, according to sources, is not taking the mounting opposition against him with kid gloves. He appears poised to go for broke, The Nation learnt.
Some weeks ago, the Bayelsa PDP, allegedly acting on Dickson’s directive, suspended some members of the party, while others, led by Dudafagha, were summarily expelled for alleged anti-party activities.
The recent intervention by the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), led by Haliru Mohammed, calling on Dickson to re-admit the members into the party, sources say, was the clearest indication that the leadership of the party is jittery about going into the election with a divided house.
Before the suspension and expulsion of these members was announced, the leadership of the party in the state had summoned and queried them over their non-committal role and alleged anti-party activities during the House of Assembly elections, especially the open support given to APGA, Labour Party and APC candidates.
More defections in Bayelsa PDP likely
While in power, former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, was unarguably the rallying figure and father figure for all party members in the state.
Though many of these party chieftains detested Dickson’s style, they however could not dump the PDP for fear of getting into the bad books of the former President.
But times have changed. Following Jonathan’s exit from the Presidential Villa, many PDP members in the state have begun to find their voices and now ready to take their political destinies in their own hands.
In the last two months, scores of PDP chieftains have defected to the APC, with many more currently perfecting plans to dump the party ahead the governorship election.
As expected, the APC has become the biggest beneficiary of the internal wrangling in the PDP.
Former Governor Timipre Sylva, the APC leader in the state, is spearheading the onslaught against Dickson and by extension, Jonathan, as a payback to the two men over his unceremonious exit from office four years ago.
Sources revealed that several consultative meetings have been held between Sylva and some disgruntled PDP members in the state preparatory to their formal defection to the APC any moment from now.
“We cannot continue to cope with the excesses of Governor Dickson. He appears bent on destroying the party for his personal ambition,” said one of those opposed to him in the party.
But the Dickson camp is unperturbed over the ongoing moves to oust him. His supporters readily point to his “achievements”, particularly in the area of infrastructural development to market him as deserving a second term in office.
APC and 2016 poll
With its rejuvenation in the state where it was virtually non-existent until recently, the APC seems poised to give the PDP a run for its money in the next governorship election.
The alleged decision of Sylva not to contest the governorship primary in order to present a fresh and non-controversial candidate to confront Dickson at the polls has been interpreted by political watchers in the state as a strong indication that the APC wants to avoid any acrimony that could arise from the conduct of the primary to choose its candidate.
But other sources view the issue differently. Sylva, they argue, may still contest for the governorship ticket if he fails to get a ministerial appointment from President Muhammadu Buhari.
In the last few weeks, names of prominent politicians, including the first civilian governor of the state, Chief D.S.P Alameiseigha, former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Timi Alaibe, were mentioned as eyeing the Dickson’s seat. Alameiseigha has since denied the report and thrown his weight behind Dickson.
On his part, Alaibe has left everyone guessing on his plans. The former NDDC boss, according to reports, would join the APC in the next few weeks, thus ending his 15-year romance with the PDP, save for his brief sojourn in the Labour Party (LP) about six years ago.
Until his name cropped up recently as one of those interested in the governorship seat, Alaibe has been on a sabbatical of sorts preferring to watch political events from the sidelines.
His aloofness may not be unconnected to his falling out with ex-President Jonathan for his “effrontery” to challenge the latter for the PDP governorship ticket in 2007.
Jonathan’s emergence as President in 2010 did not help Alaibe’s case, as he was relegated to the background in the PDP scheme of things.
Other names being touted as setting up structures to contest for the exalted seat in the APC include the current General Manager of the State Transport Company, Ebitimi Angbare, who is reportedly banking on his closeness with one of the national leaders of the party to clinch the governorship ticket.
Angbare was the flag bearer of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) during the 2007 governorship race in Bayelsa State, which was won by Sylva but later annulled by the Election Tribunal. The re-run ordered by the Federal Court of Appeal, was however won by Sylva.
The APC Chairman in the state, Chief Tiwei Orunimigha, a former Chairman of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa and a close associate of Sylva, is also not left out in the battle for the Government House.
Dickson still confident
At his monthly transparency briefing at the state’s Banquet Hall, Dickson boasted that he remains the best governor of the state, adding that his performance in the last four years would earn him a second term.
While acknowledging the fact that PDP in the state has witnessed cases of defection, disloyalty by some members and series of anti-party meetings by some known PDP elective and appointed leaders, he said the political activities in the state, including outcome of elections, have shown that Bayelsa belongs to the PDP and cannot change.
The APC, he says, stands no chance of winning the election, because in his words, “Bayelsa is a PDP stronghold.”
And in furtherance of his preparations for his campaign, the governor has set up a Special Contact and Mobilisation Committee charged with the responsibility of addressing the grievances and complaints from genuine party members in the state.
But sources told The Nation that not all PDP members in the state are on the same page with Dickson on the need for PDP to retain the governorship seat.
An aggrieved member said: “Bayelsans will vote Dickson out in the November election, because they have discovered that he does not have the capacity to run the state. Dickson has only succeeded in polarising the party and alienating the political leadership in the state.
“He is fighting a lost battle; he is fighting everybody from the former First Lady (Dame Patience Jonathan) to past and serving senators, legislators and all known political leaders in the state. Let him come out and point one single leader in the state that is still with him, including all those that helped him to become the governor. He is a total failure.”
With the governor taking the battle to his opponents in the battle for the Creek House, the governorship election promises to be a keenly contested race.
