An Ijaw interest group has warned that unlike past governorship primaries in Bayelsa State, the 2019 selection of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate looks likely to affect the unity of the PDP, except something is urgently done to correct the lopsided decisions that are currently being taken by Governor Seriake Dickson; despite the reported willingness of former President Goodluck Jonathan to allow the emergence of a governor from Governor Sieriake Dickson’s Restoration Group. Jonathan has stated his preference for Kemela Okara, the immediate past Secretary to the State Government.
In picking Kemela Okara of the Restoration Group, President Jonathan is reported to sacrifice his own loyalists such as Boladei Igali, Reuben Okoya, Timi Alaibe, and Kienebi Okoko for the unity of the PDP going into the November 2019 governorship elections in state.
At the last count, 21 PDP governorship aspirants have procured the party forms for the race. Of this 21 aspirants over half of this number belong to Governor Sieriake Dickson’s Restoration Group and the prominent candidate’s in the Restoration Group include, Kemela Okara, immediate past Secretary to the State Government; Douye Diri, a Senator representing Bayelsa Central; Talford Ongolo, former Chief of Staff to Governor Dickson; Fred Agbedi, former Director-General of the Dickson Governorship campaign in 2015 and a member of the House of Representatives.
Aside from these front runners, there are also other contestants from the Restoration Group and they include: include the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Board of Internal Revenue, Dr. Ayawei Ayawei, the Deputy Governor Retired Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah and the Former Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Kombowei Benson.
The other camps made up of the independents and those loyal to former President Goodluck Jonathan include the likes of Ambassador Boladei Igali, Architect and former Commissioner during the Diepreye Alamesiagha and Goodluck Jonathan government, Reuben Okoya, former NDDC Managing Director, Timi Alaibe and Kienebi Okoko, an oil magnate.
Despite assurances by key players in the PDP, the battle for who produces the next flag bearer of the PDP is a battle among three blocs within the party. The three blocs are those of former President Goodluck Jonathan, the Restoration Caucus led by Governor Seriake Dickson and the independent aspirants not tied to any political group.
Speaking with journalists in Lagos, Chief Francis Akpofemowei, President, Association of True Iijaw Values, accused Governor Sieriake Dickson of not only desiring the governorship slot, but also the deputy governorship slot by supporting the Douye Diri/ Lawrence Ewrudjiakpo ticket. “Dickson wants to achieve his ambition of becoming the Senator representing Bayelsa West in the Senate immediately after he leaves as the Governor of the State. This winner-takes-all plan leaves out the other groups in the PDP in Bayelsa State and is certain to create major frictions among PDP loyalists which may lead to the loss of either the governorship contest or the loss of another Senatorial seat to the APC as the APC appears to have put its house in order by making Timpre Sylva a Minister while leaving the space free of any bickering in its quest to take the Governorship of Bayelsa State,” Said Akpofemowei.
Explaining his understanding of Dickson’s alleged game plan, leader of the Ijaw Values group posited that Dickson may have carefully eliminated all opposition having become the leader of the PDP in Bayelsa State, side-stepped Goodluck Jonathan and any interest allied to the former President with the sole aim to become the leader of the Ijaw nation and a Senator from Bayelsa West upon the completion of his tenure as Governor of Bayelsa State.
Akpofemowei asserted that “To achieve his ambition, he put his friend and most prominent stooge, Lawrence Ewrudjiakpo, whom he had previously made his Commissioner for works as the candidate for the Senate position in Bayelsa West so he could get Lawrence Ewrudjiakpo to step-down from his position and take the Deputy Governor position in the 2019 Governorship race so Dickson can achieve his ambition of going to the Senate immediately his tenure ends as Governor of the State.”
Speaking further, he said “Dickson’s permutation is to make the duo of Duoye Diri and Lawrence Ewrudjiakpo who are both Senators currently representing Bayelsa State in the Senate. Both men are his former Commissioners with whom he plans to continue to dominate the affairs of the State. To buttress this thinking, Lawrence Ewrudjiakpo has already joined the Duoye Diri campaign team, while the likes of Kemela Okara and Talford Ongolo will remain puns in Dickson’s chess-board for the purpose of horse-trading and negotiations. These are Dickson’s last-minute candidates should his preferred plan fail.
Already, there are indications that former President Goodluck Jonathan’s camp is already demanding for the Deputy Governorship slot should a member of Seriake Dickson’s Restoration Group emerge in the Tuesday, September 3, 2019 governorship primary of the PDP, in order to halt a big crisis which may truncate the PDP’s intention of retaining the governorship of Bayelsa State as disgruntled aspirants in the Jonathan camp and some others in the Restoration Group may team up and support APC in the forthcoming gubernatorial election slated for November 2019