Nov 11 Poll: LP Chieftain Set To Dump Party For PDP In Bayelsa

A former Bayelsa State governorship aspirant on the platform of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 gubernatorial primaries, Chief Diekivie Ikiogha, has indicated his desire to defect to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the State.
This came to light at the weekend during a chat with Newsmen in Yenagoa, the state capital.
Chief Ikiogha, a pioneer alumnus of the University of Port Harcourt is a bosom friend of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The party chieftain revealed that his political sojourn to the Labour Party during and after the just concluded presidential elections and the governorship primaries in the state was borne out of his desire to develop the state.
The Tide learnt that Chief Ikiogha who had also been a gubernatorial aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress(APC) during the 2019 governorship poll had also been appointed by previous administrations as Commissioner and Chief of Staff, Government House, respectively.
He noted that his planned defection to the PDP was largely premised on Governor Diri’s sterling performance in office, especially in the area of infrastructural development, saying that he (Diri) was also one of the founding fathers of the state, and that prior to the formation of the APC and his (Ikiogha) pitching of tent with the LP recently, he had been a member of the PDP where he served the state in various capacities.
“The reasons why I defected from the PDP to the APC, and from the APC to the Labour Party, and now going back to the PDP, my original party, was due to my quest to see the rapid development of Bayelsa State. And for me, I’m so worried that Nigeria and my state, Bayelsa, haven’t reached the height they ought to have attained as a state and nation”, he said.
The Epie-born politician who lauded the state governor for his developmental milestones, however noted that his reason for leaving the Labour Party was because of the fractionalization of the party from the state to the national Secretariat.
This is just as he maintained that upon consultations with his political associates and friends, he believed the only alternative for him was to return to the PDP where his services and contributions were better acknowledged.
“I’ve compared, consulted and critically analysed that none of the candidates can unseat governor Douye Diri in the forthcoming November 11 Polls in the state.
“Diri is one of the founding fathers of the state, and so he knew the problems and challenges of the state, and he’s solving them gradually. The Governor has a listening ear, and has promised to right all perceived wrongs within his time in office”, he said.
“I’ve met with the governor and informed him of my desire to return to the PDP after my sojourn in both the APC and Labour Party.
“But before I finally move back to the PDP on the 31st of this October, 2023 I’d want to consult with the father of all Bayelsans and by extension, father of all Nigeria’s current politicians. And you know whom I’m talking about”, Ikiogha added in apparent reference to former President Goodluck Jonathan.

By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa