Politics
Dickson Predicts Victory For PDP In Bayelsa
Thousands of supporters turned out in Yenagoa last Monday as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) inaugurated its campaign for the November 16 governorship election .
The National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, was represented at the event by the Vice Chairman (South), Emmanuel Ogidi. which attracted thousands of party faithful across the eight local governments, The party also received defectors from the All Progressives Congress (APC), led by a former APC stalwart from Sagabama Local Government, Miebi Bribina.
Addressing the crowd, Governor Seriake Dickson said only PDP had the political structure to win any election in Bayelsa State, adding that the party controlled the grassroots with its eight local government chairmen and 105 ward councillors.
The governor listed his achievements in education, health, road infrastructure, political stability, among others and noted that the development was brought to the state by the PDP.
He said through the party, many youths have been given appointments, adding that his administration will engage more youths in governance.
Dickson told the crowd that one of his big-ticket projects, the Bayelsa International Cargo Aiport, would take off within the month, “no matter the antics.”
He described the PDP candidate, Senator Douye Diri, and his running mate, Senator Lawrence Ewrujakpor, as a ticket of stability, predicting that Diri would succeed him by God’s grace.
He said: “We are presenting a ticket of stability, a ticket of development. The indigenes don’t want a ticket that will turn this state to a gathering of hooligans and criminals where people will be running away as they did before. This is why we are presenting this ticket and by the grace of God, your next governor in 2020 will be Senator Douye Diri.
“There is no government that can claim to solve all problems of a state or of a country. There are many things we have done. There are a lot of things that are ongoing and so many things we plan to do. All of these, Douye Diri and his new government from February will continue and complete.
Politics
LP Crisis: Ex-NWC Member Dumps Dumps Abure Faction
Mr Ojukwu, who recently returned to the interim National Working Committee led by Senator Esther Nenadi Usman, noted that the party had 34 elected members in the House of Representatives, eight Senators, and 80 members at the state Houses of Assembly after the 2023 general elections.
“Now we lost all of them,” he said. “I don’t think we have as many as five members in the National Assembly.”
The former national officer of the LP talked to journalists in Abuja and said he chose to join the caretaker committee led by Senator Nenadi-Usman because they are now the officially recognized leaders of the Party.
“I chose to work with the caretaker committee to help save the Labour Party, for the benefit of the party. I also want to use this chance to ask my colleagues at the national, state, and local government levels to come together and help rebuild our party.
“Another election is around the corner. We lost everything we have. They have left to other political parties. So I’ll reach out to all my friends in the other group to get together and work on making this party stronger again.
“The caretaker committee has formed a reconciliation committee. Let’s come together and talk so that we can restore the first opposition political party in Nigeria.”
Mr Ojukwu, who was part of the Julius Abure’s group, said there are no more factions in the LP.
He added, “There is a court ruling, and since it is valid, the right people are in the correct positions.”
He urged Barr Abure and others to drop the legal cases they have filed because they are not helping the party.
“Litigations are killing political parties”, he said. “They’ve seen many political parties disappear because of legal battles, and the Labor Party is losing support every day, which makes me feel sad.”
Mr Ojukwu said he did not think joining the Senator Nenadi-Usman’s NWC was a betrayal of the Abure group, describing himself as “the oxygen” of that faction.
“I’m with this group because of the verdict. But I never betrayed anybody. Rather, I was betrayed,” he added.
