By Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa
Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State at the weekend attacked the ruling All Progressives Party (APC), maintaining that the party has nothing to offer Nigerians.
Dickson, who spoke during an interactive session with journalists in Yenagoa, was reacting to a question on the recent defections to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, noting that the APC remains a highly bigoted party which only makes decisions on the basis of favouritism.
He said: “We are going to wind down the party (APC) where their leaders are not interested in the development of their people and their states – a party that makes appointments only on the basis of man-know-man and percentage of votes – That party that has nothing good for our people.
“The name of that party is almost becoming anathema to our people. They do not know we are in this game to build and not to destroy.
“You saw what they have been doing in other states. They call it inconclusive elections, they call it rescheduled and rerun elections”
He boasted that after what some politicians did to him using federal might in the last governorship elections in the state, he had been receiving them back into the party because of the open-minded way the PDP operates.
“I am going to use the Bayelsa State’s case to call on all politicians in the country to treat one another with respect. There are only few people in that party (APC) who mean well.
“In Bayelsa, they have no chance of winning any election. They cannot win any seat in this state. When campaigns start, you will see it clearly. After people risked their lives, they went to a room and wrote names of appointments,” Dickson added.
Meanwhile, Dickson has received a former Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Gideon Ekeuwei, and a former Special Adviser, Chief Rufus Abadi, along with several of their supporters into the PDP in the state.
Ekeuwei, who was SSG during the Timipre Sylva administration and Chief Abadi were received along with their supporters by the governor at the Government House, Yenagoa.
Dickson expressed happiness that the two, who he described as founding members of the PDP in the state, had experienced the other side and decided to come back home.
He said that even though the duo worked hard for the APC during the governorship election in 2015, he still saw them as brothers and called on the people of the state to shun the pull-him-down syndrome.
“I have been informed that this is a preliminary reception. A big rally is planned for next month to receive you and your teeming supporters and to give you
all the assurance that PDP is home to all our people.
“For us, politics is about building, not destroying. It is about preserving life, not about killing or taking life, and not about making people miserable. If you are in the business of service to men, you are serving God also.
“Ekeuwei and Abadi gave us problems in the last governorship election. Despite the federal might, we still triumphed because we had God and the people on our side” he said.
