Dickson wins Bayelsa PDP primary

•INEC, Sylva, lawmakers shun exercise •Four aspirants protest, three stage walkout

Written by  MIKE ODIEGWU

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Dickson

Seriake Dickson, who represents Bayelsa West Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, on Saturday emerged winner in the controversial Bayelsa Peoples Democratic Party primary held amid tight security.

Dickson polled 365 votes while other contestants, Christopher Enai and Orufa Boloubor, got no vote; Kalango Michael and Duokpuola Amaebi scored one vote each while Fred Ekiyegha and Austine Febo polled two votes each.

In his acceptance speech, Dickson said he was honoured and humbled by the massive support he received from the party members.

He appealed to the youths to eschew violence and join in building a peaceful state.

He said, “Let me thank and congratulate the other worthy aspirants in this race. I am going to allow everyone be part of the PDP train. I recognise what all the other aspirants have done. Now our party has spoken and it will be my duty to start the process of reconciliation so that our party can do what we are known to do best, winning elections fairly and freely.

“Everybody will be needed to build the new Bayelsa PDP. It will be a departure from the rancorous past. We will now build a united and strong PDP in Bayelsa. We can together work as a team to secure our future.”

The exercise, which started about 1pm, was concluded peacefully without rancour about 4:30pm.

President Goodluck Jonathan, Governor Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State and 50 other delegates including state and federal lawmakers boycotted the controversial primary election organised by the PDP to select its candidate for the February 2012 governorship poll in the state.

The primary election was conducted amid complaints and public protest by four out of the seven aspirants who were present at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex, Yenagoa, to partake in the event.

The lamentation of the aggrieved aspirants introduced a dramatic twist to the event and highlighted the internal wrangling rocking the PDP ahead of the governorship election.

Also members of the state House of Assembly, federal lawmakers from the state and chairmen of local government areas shunned the party’s primary election.

It was also observed that no representative of the Independent National Electoral Commission monitored the primary, which grounded activities in the capital city.

While Jonathan and Sylva were described as distinguished statutory delegates in the list of delegates made available to SUNDAY PUNCH, the lawmakers and chairmen were referred to as statutory delegates.

It was gathered that the state and federal lawmakers including the council chairmen boycotted the exercise as a demonstration of their support for Sylva.

However, members of the Councillors’ Forum, comprising councillors elected on the platform of the party, were divided.

Sylva as expected failed to turn up having secured a court order stopping PDP from holding the event.

A total of 463 persons described as distinguished statutory delegates, statutory delegates and ward ad-hoc delegates were billed to turn up for the exercise but only 411 persons were present for accreditation.

The accreditation began at the Peace Park, opposite the Government House, Yenagoa amid tight security about 9am. All the delegates and observers were frisked by stern-looking security operatives before they were allowed entrance into the park.

But shortly after the Chairman of the PDP Electoral Committee and Minister of Police Affairs, Mr. Caleb Olubolade, introduced the process of the election and conduct expected of participants, four of the aggrieved aspirants sprang to their feet.

They stormed the canopy stand of members of the panel comprising Husseni Lamidi, Adisa Sambo, Adulgariagu Cook and Ahmed Saidi and faulted the decision of the party to proceed with the election.

Those, who wore long faces and protested against the exercise, were Christopher Enai, Orufa Boloubor, Austine Febo, and Duokpola Amaebi.

Duokpola told members of the panel that it was wrong for the party to go ahead with the exercise without resolving complaints arising from the ward congress election that led to the emergence of the delegates.

He said the party had earlier assured them that their complaints contained in a protest letter they sent to the National Working Committee of the party would be investigated and resolved.

He said, “The party set up an appeal panel to investigate the issue we raised that ward congresses were not conducted. The panel visited the state yesterday (Friday) and promised that they would make their reports known to the party in 48 hours.

“But now the report of the panel has not been completed and the party is holding a congress; that is not what we expected. We expected that the party would have received the report first before going ahead with the congress.”

He said the action of the party was deceitful and also observed that most of the delegates wore T-shirts bearing the party’s logo and symbol which he said was fraudulent and unacceptable.

He also told members of the panel that federal, state lawmakers, local government chairmen and the councillors who were supposed to be delegates shunned the event because of unresolved disputes and controversies.

Enai also gave graphic details of how they were allegedly deceived by members of the ward congress committee and said there was no basis for the primary.

Corroborating the position of Enai, Orufa said, “In respect of the congresses that were supposed to have held on Monday, the party set up the appeal panel to investigate all our complaints and the appeal panel came yesterday and we gave our own side of the story.

“They promised to write a report to the NWC before the primary but to our surprise, there is no report and we are seeing delegates right here. We don’t know where the delegates are coming from. For that reason we are boycotting the election.”

All the efforts of Olubolade to pacify the disgruntled aspirants proved abortive as three of them, excluding Duokpola, walked out of the venue.

Though Duokpola did not leave the premises of the event along with other aspirants, our correspondent observed that he sneaked out shortly after voting for himself.

All the past state chairmen of the party and the current acting Chairman, Mr. James Dugo, who participated and voted as a distinguished delegate were present on the occasion.

Others were former Governor of the state, DSP Alamieyeseigha and former Deputy Governor, Peremobowei Ebebi
.

SOURCE: The Punch, 20 November 2011. http://punchontheweb.com/