JOY EMMANUEL asks between the duo of Governor Douye Diri as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and that of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and immediate past Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, also a one time governor of the state, who wins Bayelsa Government House for the second time?
The November 11 governorship election in Bayelsa state promises to be an epic battle with the emergence of two prominent political actors in the state.
The incumbent governor, Douye Diri, was returned unopposed as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while erstwhile one term governor of the state and immediate past Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva as the All Progressives Congress (APC) standard bearer defeated four other contestants.
Between the two, wherever the victory swings in November would have earned himself a second tenure. While Sylva finished his first tenure in 2012, Diri is still serving his first term as governor in the state.
Diri’s emergence as ‘fertile ground for PDP victory’?
For the PDP, the emergence of Diri seems to be “a prepared a fertile ground to clinch the governorship seat in the Bayelsa state.
The party’s governorship screening committee for Bayelsa state had earlier screened and cleared Governor Douye Diri as a sole candidate for the November 11 election.
The screening exercise which took place at the PDP headquarters in Abuja, according to governor’s spokesman, Daniel Alabrah, Diri was the only aspirant of the party that picked the PDP nomination and expression of interest forms for the November poll.
Chairman of the screening committee and Edo state deputy governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu, said the panel screened Governor Diri in line with the guidelines of the party and as stipulated in the Electoral Law.
Some party faithful who volunteered information on the candidacy of the governor in the forthcoming guber polls said “the factors gravitating Governor Diri seeming inevitable victory at the polls are quite obvious even though the political players are not blind to them, therefore, complimenting.”
Adeleke’s unity call
Addressing the delegates and party stakeholders, chairman of the PDP Electoral Panel and Governor of Osun state, Senator Ademola Adeleke, said Diri having satisfied the statutory requirements of the primaries was declared winner, even though the contest was set for a predictable outcome as Diri was the only candidate.
Prior to the commencement of the primaries, Senator Adeleke had called for a peaceful conduct of the process in accordance with the party’s constitution and relevant provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He also called for the unity of purpose in the party after the conduct of the exercise.
Adeleke who led other committee members to the Dr Gabriel Okara Cultural Centre, Yenagoa, where the exercise held expressed optimism that the party stood undefeated in the state if united after the primary election that will produce the flag bearer, adding that the task of retaining power in the state will depend on their unity.
He said, “Our task today is the all-important delegate election of the party. We are here as a committee to ensure free and fair elections for the interest of the party.
“I call for unity. That is why we have to be more united even after the primaries; we must unite to ensure the victory of the PDP in the general election. We must work to ensure the governor retains his seat.
“We must abide by the constitution of the party as we go into the elections.”
At the end of voting, Diri emerge winner with 305, while the invalid and void votes 4 and 4 respectively but even before the contest the result was already known.
While the governor sees his victory as a miracle, some party members who do not want their names mentioned in print described it as a charade.
Diri acceptance speech
Diri in his acceptance speech commended the delegates and the party for giving him the ticket to contest for a second term in office.
He described the process as unprecedented in the history of the state as he was returned unopposed, noting that once a candidate was given the party’s ticket it was as good as winning the election since Bayelsa is dominantly a PDP state.
“Whereas, in an unprecedented turn of events, I was the sole aspirant who picked the nomination and expression of interest forms to contest on the platform of our great party as its flag bearer in the November 2023 governorship election.
“It is, therefore, with utmost joy and profound gratitude I accept your kind endorsement of the process. I am truly humbled by your confidence in me to seek a second term to continue building the human and physical bridges that will lead us to the shared prosperity that our founding fathers envisaged for our people.
“Today is the beginning of an end; the culmination of the start of the process that, hopefully, by the grace of God and the will of the good people of Bayelsa State, will lead us back to Creek Haven for a second tenure.
However, other political pundits said despite its boastfulness, the Bayelsa PDP finds it difficult to run a clear contest and a fair primaries where all the intending aspirants could express themselves.
Prior to the party primaries, feelers had it that governor Douye Diri had gone to lobby his kinsmen by pacifying the likes of Timi Alaibe and others before primaries election, the peoples democratic party, which was too self confident.
Sylva as APC flagbearer
Similarly, the immediate past Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva was declared winner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary for Bayelsa State for November 11 governorship election in the state.
Sylva, a former governor who ruled the state between 2007 to 2012, polled a total of 52, 061 votes to defeat five other aspirants including the 2019 governorship candidate of the party, Chief David Lyon in a direct primary of the party.
With the result, Sylva will now square up with the incumbent governor, Senator Douye Diri emerged earlier as the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the governorship election.
Declaring the results penultimate Saturday at the APC state Secretariat in Yenagoa, the chairman of the APC Primary Election Committee for Bayelsa State, Maj. Gen. A. T. Jibrin (Rtd), said the exercise was conducted peacefully.
According to him, the scores of other aspirants who contested the primaries were Chief David Lyon, 1591 votes, Chief Festus Daumiebi, 557, Ongoebi Etebu Maureen 1277 votes, Joshua Maciver, 2078 votes while Ogbomade Johnson had 584 votes.
He said the panel acted on the mandate given to it by the national leadership of the party to conduct free and fair primary to choose the party candidate for November 11 governorship election.
He said though the the difficult terrain of the state delayed the conclusion of the exercise, but they were able to conduct a primary acceptable by the aspirants and stakeholders of the party.
How Sylva describes his ticket
Sylva had described his emergence as a proof of the indivisibility of the APC in the state and the national level.
He said: “I have never been so proud in my life. I have belonged to many political parties such as the defunct UNCP and the nearly dead PDP.
“But I am very proud of the APC with a very clear internal democracy.
“A few years ago, I was unjustly stopped from contesting a governorship primary by my former party.
“My former party did that to me. A few days ago, they disqualified a serving senator from contesting.
“It is shameful. I have once again gone through a primary and emerged winner. It is contests like this that makes the difference.
“It is this contest that makes the difference between the APC and others. There is no doubt that we will win the election.”
Two aspirants, Ongoebi Etebu Maureen and Joshua Maciver, expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the primary and promised to work for the victory of the party come November 11.
