Eventual emergence of PDP and APC candidates sets the stage for December 5 Bayelsa governorship election, Editor, Politics/Features, EMEKA ALEX DURU, writes.
By Wednesday last week, it had become apparent that the December 5 governorship election in Bayelsa State would be a straight fight between Governor Seriake Dickson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his predecessor, Timipre Sylva of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC). Though there were also candidates from other political parties in the state, especially the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), many see the contest as essentially an encounter between the two.
Dickson’s emergence as PDP candidate was a straightforward exercise. Unlike the situation nearly four years ago when the primary that threw him up was enmeshed in controversies, the governor had a smooth run in picking the party’s ticket this time as the party’s chieftains in the state closed ranks and endorsed him as their sole candidate for the December poll. What passed as the party’s primary for the election was the ratification of Dickson’s candidacy two weeks ago.
That was not the case with Sylva. His was a candidature that literally emerged from the ashes of controversy. The first primary by his party on September 22 ended in stalemate. Running against other aspirants that included former Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Ndutimi Alaibe, the former governor had claimed victory in the exercise.
But the party’s electoral committee headed by Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, disagreed, citing irregularities in the contest. The report of the committee was adopted by APC National Working Committee (NWC) which on Monday cancelled the primary election and rescheduled it for Wednesday September 29.
Sylva’s campaign team did not take kindly to the turn of events, but pledged to abide by the decision of the party. In a statement issued in Yenagoa on Tuesday, September 30 by Doifie Buokoribo, the campaign team told its supporters to remain calm and steadfast, assuring them of victory by its principal.
Sylva’s supporters kept to the advice. But in what turned out an anti-climax, Alaibe, on whose petition the Oshiomole panel annulled the September 22 primary, pulled out of the race on Wednesday morning, even before the commencement of the exercise.
He claimed to have taken the decision to preserve cohesion in the party which, he said, was critical in dislodging the PDP – the ruling party in the state – in the poll.
“This decision is taken in the interest of our party, especially as we face the task of the common challenge of unseating the PDP in the state come December 5,” he said.
Many were shocked at the action, given that it was Alaibe’s outcry that led to the cancellation of the September 22 primary. Some saw it as a bold move, especially considering the titanic December election that requires collective action by APC.
Others, however, interpreted Alaibe’s action as falling in line with his trademark politics of stoking the fire for electoral contest and chickening out when the heat peaks. They recalled, for instance, that the ex-NDDC boss had put up similar antics against Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, former President Goodluck Jonathan and Sylva, while they were, at various times, Bayelsa governor.
His strategy had been to elaborately advertise his interest in the election, but to drop off eventually before even the primary. Some suspect that as his strategy for positioning himself for relevance in the affairs of the state, after the election. Whatever may be the reason behind his move this time, his withdrawal had effectively paved way for Sylva who defeated other 18 aspirants for an epic encounter with Dickson.
Sylva banks on change
Since his defection from PDP to the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) – one of the legacy parties that fused into APC, following his face-off with the then President Jonathan four years ago – Sylva has not hidden his desire to return to the seat he was denied a second term. In going about the exercise, he virtually rebuilt the party to its current form.
Though the electoral fortunes of the party are yet to tally with its media presence, especially given that it only won one out of 24 seats in the House of Assembly in the last election, APC has, in a way, become a force to reckon with in Bayelsa politics. In fact, the party took in some defectors from PDP in the state, few weeks ago, in what was celebrated as an indication of its growing influence in the state.
Sylva is banking on this resurgence of strength by the party to challenge Dickson. There is also the hope that with APC being the ruling party at the centre, a bandwagon voter-attitude may work in favour of his aspiration, at least, to steer the state from the path of opposition. In addition, the former governor hopes to draw from a network of connections and the goodwill he had built while in power.
Dickson runs on performance profile
The governor however prides himself as the man to beat in the election, essentially on account of his performance profile which stakeholders in the state describe as enticing. A major attribute that even critics concede to him is his prudent management of the state’s resources. Through his televised monthly briefings on the revenue and expenditure profile of the state, he is said to have earned the admiration of many on issues of transparency and accountability.
The governor also boasts of giving the state’s infrastructure a huge uplift. His achievements in this area, he insists, surpass the performance of his opponents in APC, while they were in public office.
He stated particularly that in addition to initiating projects that have impacted positively on the lives of the people, his administration also took over projects that could have been completed by NDDC.
Citing the Sagbama-Ekeremor Road initially awarded by the commission, Dickson noted that the project had been abandoned for years in similar manner with other failed projects dotting the landscape of Bayelsa that had retarded the development of the state.
Senior officials of the administration also credit it with people-oriented programmes that ushered in the culture of peace currently existing in the state. This, they say, is because the governor has maintained an inclusive system of administration that has meaningfully impacted on the people.
“For the first time, communities have something to show,” Dickson enthused last week, in apparent advertisement of the strides of the administration in impacting on the people. It was, perhaps, against this backdrop that he stressed in a recent engagement with newsmen that he was running on account of his glowing performance scorecard and support of the people. “We have the people. In democracy, it is the people that matter,” he had said.
Dickson however expressed his hunch on what he described as desperation by APC aspirants for the party’s ticket even before its primary, alleging that it was on the hope that the presidency and the Independent national Electoral Commission (INEC) would rig the election for its candidate. He called on President Muhammadu Buhari and INEC Acting Chairman, Amina Bala Zakari, to resist the temptation of being drawn into the mess, vowing however that any attempt in that direction would be resisted by Bayelsans.
“Bayelsa people will not fold their arms and see the election rigged,” the governor warned.