By Emmanuel Addeh
Former Chairman of volatile Brass Local Government Council and a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart, Mr. Bello Bina, has shed light on why he dumped his erstwhile party for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa.
Bina said that the leadership of the PDP in the state had become tyrannical, stressing that consultation with stakeholders, which was hitherto the hallmark of the of the party had been jettisoned.
The former local council boss noted that he had nothing to lose by leaving the PDP, insisting that as a foundation member of the party since 1999, he had been sidelined in the goings-on in the PDP in Bayelsa.
He argued that because of the selfish interest of some unnamed persons in the party, the PDP had succeeded in alienating those who built the party, explaining that many of those in critical positions in government today, were outsiders who had been favoured by the powers that be.
“They have used their selfish interest to destroy the PDP. These known PDP chieftains have become authoritarian and silenced the voice of the majority members of the party. Now that PDP is ruling, I don’t have anything. I have decided to vote for the APC and David Lyon. I have left the PDP.
“We were the first set of people that started the PDP with Diepreye Alameiseigha (former governor). Many of these people were in Alliance for Democracy (AD) then. Now, they are making choices of who becomes the running mate and others without consulting party leaders including the former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan,” he added.
He boasted that as a council chairman, he worked hard to ensure peace between all political divides in the area, but lamented that Brass local Government had been embroiled in violence since he was unjustifiably removed as Chairman.
‘’It is on record that under my tenure, no youth was injured and they all resided together as one despite the political differences. But look at the council now, we have many corpses either lying in the mortuary or buried. It is a shame,’’ he maintained.
Bina argued that apart from being a personal friend since childhood, David Lyon remains one of the most humble human beings he had ever met, insisting that Lyon will beat the PDP candidate in the November 16 election.
He maintained that the PDP was no longer the cohesive party it used to be because of mismanagement and high-handedness, promising to work and ensure that that Lyon is elected governor later this month.
