Bayelsa 2019: It’s Getting Hot in Here

The war of attrition between the two major power blocs within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa, which have been battling to outdo each other ahead of the party’s governorship primaries, is gradually reaching a denouement, writes Emmanuel Addeh

It started like a rumour, but in the last couple of weeks, what has become certain is that there seems to be no middle ground or meeting point between the forces loyal to former President Goodluck Jonathan on the one hand and Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State on the other, as to who flies the flag of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the November 16 governorship poll in the state.

While the ex-president, in his characteristic manner, continues to operate in the background, as it were, Governor Dickson has come out to state some of the criteria that must be met by anybody aspiring to succeed him, one of which must be that such a person must be a member of his camp, the Restoration Caucus or what has now come to be known as the r-PDP.

Coming out publicly to enunciate such a condition had immediately created the ground for a battle between ‘us and them’ as well as a wide gulf between the ‘insiders and outsiders’, with many of the preferred aspirants, seen as mere facades or cannon folders in the gubernatorial game of wits.

Before now, there were feeble attempts to mend fences between the two seeming gladiators, Jonathan and Dickson, with quite a few meetings but which, in the main, were programmed to end in futility, for the simple reason that each party came with a fixed mindset or position as to what or who they wanted. They simply could not agree, thereby sending each of the contending parties to their tents to plan the best strategy to outwit the other.

As it stands, with Dickson’s criteria, some of those who are yearning to occupy the Creek Haven, Bayelsa’s seat of power, in his camp include Kemela Okara, erstwhile Secretary to the State Government (SSG); Talford Ongolo, his immediate past Chief of Staff; Senator Douye Diri, a close political ally of his, who just upgraded after spending years in the federal house of representatives and Nimibofa Ayawei, the man who until recently was in charge of revenue collection in the state.

Those in the second layer, (in Dickson’s camp but not necessarily preferred) are Konbowei Benson, who just served out his term as Speaker of the State Assembly; John Jonah, Dickson’s Deputy; Fred Agbedi, a multi-term member of the House of Representatives and Robson Etolor, an aide to the governor.
From the camp of Jonathan, the leading aspirants are Timi Alaibe, a former Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Keniebi Okoko, businessman and philanthropist, who though underrated however has the ability to spring a surprise.

A second level in Jonathan’s bloc comprises Benson Agadaga, National President, Ogbia Brotherhood; Reuben Okoya, a businessman; Franklin Osaisai, who was made head of Nigeria’s atomic agency by Jonathan’s government and Senator Emmanuel Paulker.
Those who appear to be in the ‘non-aligned movement’ or who have not publicly shown loyalty to any group are Joshua Maciver, a former militant/businessman; Godknows Igali, who tried rather unsuccessfully to befriend both camps; Yariela Oliver, Anthony George-Ikoli (SAN), David Alagoa, Johnson Kiyaramo and Igiri Ziperedein.

In all of these, what is apparent is that the r-PDP led by the governor and arguably the leading force in the build-up to the primaries, which is less than 72 hours from now, sees Alaibe, who is said to have strong connections, business as well as political, as its biggest threat.
The reason he is tending to stir the political waters in Bayelsa may not be far-fetched. Many believe that Alaibe has got the ‘clout’ and what they might even describe as ‘class’.

As head of Nigeria’s Presidential Amnesty Programme and head of Niger Delta’s interventionist agency, the NDDC, he was said to have made influential friends across the nation and beyond. He is also, according to those close to him, a very generous man, a very helpful feature of any politician aspiring to succeed in the country’s politics.

Many of those he helped to build as young politicians, students, business entrepreneurs, in the last 20 years, especially in his heydays in government are still fiercely loyal to him. They see him as capable of running Bayelsa State, given his vast experience, both in government and in business.
A potent threat, it is safe to assume that everybody not in Dickson’s camp is either sold out to the Alaibe ambition or will back Okoko.

From one of the smallest local governments in Bayelsa, Kolokuma/Opokuma, he is reputed to have been very instrumental to returning peace to the Niger Delta region, when the problem of militancy became almost intractable. Cool and calm, he is said to have the backing of former Presidents Jonathan and Olusegun Obasanjo, who also reportedly, along with several influential Nigerians, pleaded with the incumbent to give him a shot, but without success.
Alaibe’s foray into the present race, starting with his return to the PDP seemed to have been quiet and without much noise. But as it was wont to happen, it would only last a short while.

After all, it is the nature of politics to be attacked and to put the enemy, nay opponent on the defensive. And the politician seemed to have succumbed at attempts to pull him out of his ‘shell’ a few days ago, when he issued a statement literally screaming ‘enough is enough’.
“The attention of Timi Alaibe Campaign Organisation has been drawn to a statement by Fidelis Soriwei, the Special Adviser, Media Relations to Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, accusing our Principal of what he calls “sinister blackmail” against the person of the governor by circulating “a cynically manipulated” speech by the governor with the intent to blackmail him (the governor).

“For the record, let it be stated that we, as a campaign organisation, take serious exception to the wrong use of tar-brush loaded words and gutter language to describe the person of our Principal with the intent to incite the public against him; particularly over an issue he knows absolutely nothing about. This is unacceptable,” the statement began in a blistering tone.

Alaibe was reacting to an allegation by Dickson’s team that he had electronically doctored the governor’s speeches in some fora, wherein he (the governor) reportedly cast aspersions or more succinctly, mocked the attempt by Alaibe to prevail on some Nigerian leaders to convince the governor to support his gubernatorial ambition.

He continued: “Our focus is to conduct our campaign on issues that will lead to the development of Bayelsa State through a shared economic prosperity and not waste energy and time on commonplace matters.
“Since the beginning of the search for a successor to Dickson, and in spite of provocative and insulting statements by certain individuals and groups, including serving commissioners in the state, this is the first time we have decided to say enough is enough.
“Our silence should not be misconstrued to mean timidity, fear or any such thing. It was basically and still a measure of the respect we, and our principal, have for the person and office of the Governor. Unfortunately, that respect has not been reciprocated”.

And that was it! As expected, it opened the floodgates of allegations and counter-accusations of violence and planned violence of alleged manipulation of delegates’ list and attempts at hoodwinking them.
The drama wasn’t over. A part two was in the offing. A PDP youth group reportedly loyal to the governor raised the alarm that Alaibe had engaged armed miscreants to disrupt the local government Ward Congresses scheduled for days in the outgoing week.

The group said Alaibe and some of his cohorts were arming miscreants to cause commotion to disrupt the planned delegates congress.
Chairman of the group, Lionel Ebilade, said Alaibe and ‘a few unpopular aspirants, had opted to disrupt the exercise with the realisation that they lacked the grassroots support to win any contest’.
From that point, it was a no-holds-barred – a return of fire for fire and a sign that truly, Bayelsa was in the heat of politics.

It wasn’t long before Alaibe’s team fired a riposte: “The allegations are totally irresponsible and baseless. We know this is the hand of Esau even if we are hearing the voice of Jacob. Timi Alaibe led the team that rescued the Niger Delta from violence and can never be a part of a process that seeks power through violence.

“Those who consistently attribute potential acts of violence in Bayelsa State to Alaibe should have a change of mind, because Alaibe has never been and will never be a violent person. As the bible says, whoever lives by the sword, will die by the sword. Seeking election to public office is not a do-or-die affair. Alaibe will never spill any blood for the sake of seeking power”.

The brickbats came to a head during the ward congresses, when Alaibe publicly accused the governor of manipulating the delegates’ list to favour the Restoration PDP, which he (the governor) leads.
“Chief Alaibe is objecting to unilateral inclusion of certain names on the list contrary to the party constitution and guidelines for the conduct of a peaceful primary. The names have been inserted to put certain aspirants, especially those of the Restoration Group, at advantage.

“The former Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs sees this as a deliberate calculation to create confusion and frustration in their futile desire to destabilise his aspiration to lead Bayelsa State. But this is a mere imagination.
“They have failed this time around, because no degree of intrigues, no amount of manipulation and propaganda can push me out of this race. Nothing will change my decision to lift the lot of our people through purposeful leadership. I am here to stay,” he declared.

He also faulted claims by the Chairman of the Ward Congresses Electoral Committee for the Conduct of Ad-Hoc Delegate Election, Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State that none of the aspirants raised objections against people named as returning and electoral officers for the Ad-Hoc Delegates Election.
He noted that neither its aspirant nor any other person in the governorship race had access to the list and composition of the electoral and returning officers until when the list was publicly announced by the chairman of the electoral committee.

“It was not until the very last minute, when the Committee made public the list and composition of the returning and electoral officers that all the other aspirants discovered that most of those mentioned were brothers, sisters, nephews, cousins and relations of the Restoration Team aspirants. The first time we knew about the content of the list was when it was being read to everybody at the party secretariat,” he argued.

However, the Restoration Caucus seems not to be perturbed by Alaibe’s complaints. A top chief in the group who boasted profusely said, “They (Alaibe and his team) didn’t have people in every ward to stand up for them. It was resounding victory for the Restoration Team all the way, and that shocked everybody contrary to the brazen propaganda and attempt to create the wrong impression. Panel members and observers were shocked that when the time for the confrontation came, they were nowhere to be found.”

If the national leadership of the PDP, from its loud silence, after a visit by the Adolphus Wabara-led appeal panel, has fully endorsed the congress leading to the emergence of ad-hoc delegates to the primaries, then, it should be taken for granted that Dickson may have won the first round.

From the crossfires, it’s obvious that the tone has been set for what may turn out to be one of the most interesting primaries in the political history of the state as Dickson, true to type is not likely to yield an inch to the former banker. It is an all-out battle, the first part of which will culminate next Wednesday.
For now, both parties have gone back to their camps to plan and perhaps, review strategies. Will Alaibe surmount this daunting, uphill task? Will he succeed in cracking this hard nut typified by the Dickson’s camp? Only time will tell!
Pix: Dickson.jpg and Alabibe.jpg, Obasanjo.jpg and Jonathan.jpg