Dickson Directs ‘Restoration’ Guber Aspirants Back to Work

Dickson Directs ‘Restoration’ Guber Aspirants Back to Work

Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa

The Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, yesterday directed officials of his government who resigned to participate in the just concluded gubernatorial primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to return to their offices with immediate effect.

The affected officials are the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Kemela Okara, the Chief of Staff, Government House, Chief Talford Ongolo and the Chairman, Bayelsa State Internal Revenue Board, Dr. Nimibofa Ayawei.

The governor said in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, that the directive followed his decision to reject their applications for resignation from office after due consideration.

Dickson directed that the former aspirants should resume in their respective offices to continue to render quality services to the  people of Bayelsa State.

In another forum, Dickson took a swipe at the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the state, David Lyon, maintaining that the party’s just-concluded governorship primaries did not pass the test of basic democratic norms.

The governor described the exercise conducted by the state chapter of the party which produced Chief David Lyon, an oil surveillance security contractor, as a sham, stressing that it was clearly a case of imposition.

He said: “That is an imposition my dear friends. Let’s call it by its proper name – an imposition. What has happened at the other side is an imposition.

“And I want to sympathise with all the very qualified people who offered themselves for service but have been rudely and crudely shut out and down in the most criminal manner and in all of these to produce a small toothless Lion,” he added

The governor advocated tolerance and maturity among the political class in the gubernatorial election scheduled for November 16, 2019 in the state and called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the relevant agencies to ensure the conduct of free, fair and credible gubernatorial elections.

A statement by Soriwei,  quoted the governor as having advised those with ambitions to occupy political office to start the process with prayers to seek the face of God before following up with consultations.

He said: “You all have seen what has happened, how once again God pushed back the proud waters and the powerful people who thought that they can get this thing (the governorship) by force.

“And I will always remind them that power comes from God. If you want power, you go on your knees to pray, to consult and anyone who desires to lead, must first serve and we thank God for what he has done but this is only a first phase.”

Similarly, the PDP has flayed the APC over the emergence of Mr. Lyon as the gubernatorial candidate of the party in the state.

Godspower Keku, the PDP secretary in the state alleged that the leader of the APC in the state, and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, schemed out all the qualified contestants from the APC only ‘to assault the sensibilities of Bayelsans with the candidacy of David Lyon’.

The PDP Scribe wondered whether  Lyon was being prodded to contest a local government election or the governorship of Bayelsa.

He said that the APC candidate  lacked the requisite credentials, experience and pedigree to become Governor of Bayelsa State.Keku who also described the APC primaries which produced Lyon as a sham, noted that Lyon was Sylva’s personal imposition.

He condemned the ‘calculated humiliation’ of Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, who he said was made prominent by the PDP, and urged those ‘humiliated’ by Sylva to rethink their political future.

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