By Cletus Opukeme, Yenagoa
Bayelsa state, an homogeneous state , means mainly occupied by Ijaw speaking people of miniature population with eight local government areas, apart from one or two Urhobo communities who are by extension are Ijaws and partial Urhobos. But one wonders as greed as made these brothers to divide themselves and kill one another with hired gunmen under different political parties, basically PDP and APC over power tussle for control of the state treasury.
Security expects have recorded Bayelsa state as one of the most dangerous/unsafe South-South states in the country during elections.
Top Bayelsa politicians have made elections to appear as battle field or do-or-die affair with bloodbath, arson across the state. Political violence takes the center stage much more than states with over 25 LGAs multi-ethnic states like Delta, Edo states and others as a result of greed in the country.
Daily Watch investigation on this week’s Bayelsa state PDP alleged sales of primary forms for the House of assembly /chairmanship aspirant was a big sham and embarrassment on Nigerian democracy as it glaringly showed that the state governor Chief Seriake Dickson out of greed and flagrant display of ego and desperation to hold unto power had hijacked the forms for both house of assembly/ local government Chairmen and Councillors for his favorite loyalists against the PDP constitution for internal democracy across the eight local government areas in the state.
We reliably gathered that the governor of the state Chief Seriake Dickson who behaves like an emperor or a demi-god through the PDP state officials broke the rules of the party constitution for internal democracy by handpicking candidates for House of Assembly and and Local government chairmen across the eight local governments by imposing his kinsmen and other loyalists to fly the PDP tickets as standard flag bearers without allowing other aspirants to purchase the party’s primary nomination/intent forms
Mr Oyintene Amakromo from Ogbia LGA told Daily Watch . ‘‘ How can sales of party primary forms of House of assembly and Chairmen/ Councillors starts and ends within one hour? The party officials told my brother who was to buy his nomination form on that date that the nomination forms are no longer available. How could that be on earth? Is this democracy? Dickson is taking us for a ride. We will cut him to size at the appropriate time.
‘‘ That was not true, it was a directive from the governor Seriake Dickson who is behaving like an emperor in Bayelsa to stop the PDP officials from making the forms not available to more qualified and competent aspirants who he knew very well that, if such persons are allowed to contest in open party primaries against his anointed aspirants, they will not see the light of the day. They will defeat his anointed aspirants. My brother, that was exactly what happened in Bayelsa state’’ he said.
He however, called on the National PDP chairman Chief Uche Secondus and other top party members to draw Chief Seriake Dickson to order to make the forms of House of assembly and local government chairmen/ Councillors available for all interested and qualified persons to buy for a leveling playing ground for all. If not, he said,”the action of the governor may affect the party’s bright chances of victory in the coming state polls”.
