Factors that may influence voting pattern in the December 5 governorship election in Bayelsa State gradually unfold as poll date draws near, Assistant Editor (South South), JOE EZUMA, reports.
With the December 5 governorship election in Bayelsa State gradually drawing close, certain developments that may affect the outcome of the exercise have been showing up. This is even as it has emerged that the poll is a direct fight between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and opposition All Progressives Alliance (APC).
Among the factors that may have direct influence on the outcome of the election are the performance of the governor, Seriake Dickson (PDP candidate), former President Goodluck Jonathan, as well as the character of former Governor Timipre Sylva (APC candidate).
For Dickson, what seems to be going for him is the opinion of many in the state that suggests that he has performed well in his first term.
Fondly referred to as ‘Countryman Governor’ by Bayelsans, the 49-year-old former member of the House of Representatives and pioneer State publicity secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), according to his supporters, has created huge impact on the socio-economic and political well-being of the state.
In his own words, the past four years of his stewardship as governor have been “exciting, challenging and a wonderful opportunity to be of service to my people. Because of my faith, I believe that by serving men, we are also serving God. I feel a certain sense of contentment and gratitude, both to God and to the people of Bayelsa for finding me worthy of the mandates that have been given to me. Exciting, because I have had an opportunity to impact on the future of our people. Challenging, because getting an underdeveloped society to make the necessary transition from underdevelopment to development takes a lot of commitment and sacrifice.”
A major plank of Dickson’s re-election bid is the fact that in these times of states owing backlog of wages to workers across the country, Bayelsa is one of the few states that do not owe workers’ salaries and pensions.
“That has been because of our carefully laid out plans in terms of management of public resources. From day one, we made payment of salaries a priority. We first reduced the wage bill from N6 billion to about N4 billion now, not by sacking anybody, but by simply identifying the loopholes and blocking them. We have done a lot of things that have changed the culture. Even the work ethics have changed. Initially, it was difficult, and I spent a great deal of political capital. Getting even civil servants to go to work was difficult. Now they are keying in and they are going to work,” the governor had explained.
TheNiche also gathered that the administration has made appreciable impact in the area of road network, in contrast to its previous one-road status. He is further said to have excelled in human capacity building, improvement of lives in the coastal and mangrove communities in the state.
Speaking at a public lecture and awards ceremony marking the birthday of the pioneer commissioner for agriculture and one-time Secretary to State Government (SSG), Professor Steve Azaiki, in Yenagoa, Dickson said his administration is people-driven, adding that it had disbursed the sum of £1 million and N200 million to the State Scholarship Board for onward transmission to scholars on state government scholarship who are studying in the United Kingdom.
Another factor that would rub off well on his re-election is former President Jonathan’s factor. Prior to the governor’s endorsement by his party, there were insinuations that with his alleged ruptured relationship with the former first family, especially Dame Patience Jonathan, his re-election would be a far cry. But his endorsement by the former president and his wife may have put paid to the fear.
The estimation is that Jonathan would draw sympathy votes to Dickson from among Bayelsans, who feel that the former president and by extension the state and the zone were badly treated in the 2015 presidential election. The frustration by former presidential adviser and erstwhile Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Managing Director, Timi Alaibe, in APC primary which forced him out of the race is another factor that may work for the governor.
It is speculated that followers of the ex-NDDC chief executive may swing their votes to Dickson, unless the APC is able to pacify their politically-ambitious leader who had been switching from one party to another since 2012, without really making any meaningful impact.
Critics however accuse Dickson of being tight-fisted in a state that most youths are used to free cash. This is the main snag that, even his ardent supporters fear, may work against his re-election bid.
This, incidentally, is a factor that Sylva’s followers are feasting on. Said to be populist and popular, the former governor is seen in some quarters as somebody that can readily part with cash. A leading politician in the state who asked not to be mentioned told our reporter that “Sylva is the man of the people. He mixes very well with the high and the low and gives out.”
Another factor that may boost Sylva’s chance would be his backing from the centre, controlled by his party. The slippery nature of some Bayelsa politicians is equally counted as a factor that my count for the APC candidate. This fear finds substance on the swiftness with which some PDP members switched camps to the APC after Jonathan failed to win re-election in the March 28 presidential election.
Even at that, analysts argue that for Sylva, who was thoroughly beaten in his senatorial bid in March election, upstaging the governor will be an uphill task.
But aside the factors that may count for or against the governor and his main challenger, the death of former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha is also seen as a major consideration that may play a decisive role during the election. TheNiche found out that with outpouring of grief, emotion and love for Alamieyeseigha, how each of the combatants play on the situation may be a deciding factor on whom carries the day.
Apparently keying into the mood of the day, Dickson had shifted the commencement of his campaign earlier slated for October 17 to a later date. He had earlier in his first official reaction to the former governor’s death lamented that his demise was a personal loss to him.
An initial Government House statement pointed out that Alamieyeseigha was a strong pillar of support to the restoration government in Bayelsa, stressing that his demise is a very painful and monumental loss to the entire Ijaw nation, which he had always stood firmly for in all ramifications.