Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa
The Bayelsa State Government yesterday called on those it described as desperate politicians interested in the gubernatorial ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to leave the state Governor, Seriake Dickson, and former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, out of their political campaigns in the state.
The state government maintained that recent publications attacking the former president and his family were a pointer to a dangerous attempt to set the two leaders against each other, following meetings between the politicians to sort out issues surrounding the November 16 governorship election in the state.
Special Adviser to the governor on Media Relations, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, in a statement in Yenagoa, urged the governorship aspirants of the PDP to focus their attention on unveiling their development agenda for the state rather than deploying underhand tactics to create division between the governor and the former president for political gains.
Soriwei, in the statememnt, decried the situation where politicians seeking to contest the governorship election sponsor parallel publications against the governor and his team; and the former President and his team with the intent to deepen disagreement and fault lines in the state.
He insisted that the attack on the former president was planned by politicians and their cronies, who according to him, were reacting to the outcome of meetings and consultations between the governor and the former president on the issue of the aspirants in the forthcoming primaries.
The state government, therefore, advised the people of the state to be wary of the sinister antics of the politicians who it said have devised a strategy of division in the PDP as their political lifeline in the state.
“Our attention has been drawn to a scurrilous publication targeted at the former president. We have also seen the reaction from people suspected to be the former president’s publicists.
“We decry the situation where politicians who are seeking to contest the governorship election in the state would sponsor parallel publications against the governor, his government and his team, as well as the former president and his family and his team, thereby deepening and taking advantage of the disagreement and fault lines in the state.
“We have read the publication by the PDP Youth Network, and we condemn any attack on the former president. Our suspicion from all preliminary enquiries is pointing in the direction of some desperate gubernatorial aspirants who are doing everything possible to deepen division in the state especially between the governor and the former president for their own selfish advantage,” the statement noted.
