The governorship election in Bayelsa State is going to be a three-horse race with fear of violence in the horizon, Godwin Ijediogor reports.
As the November 11 governorship election in Bayelsa State draws near, there has been increased tempo of underground political activities by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Senator Douye Diri, and that of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Timipre Sylva.
Diri is the incumbent governor of the state, while Sylva was a former governor and immediate past minister of State for Petroleum Resources. Both candidates are gunning for a second term.
Also in the race, among others, is a former commissioner, Udengs Eradiri, of the Labour Party (LP). While Diri and Eradiri are enjoying peace in their parties, Sylva is fighting the threat of disqualification in court and seeming to revolt in his Opu-Nembe homestead. And while Diri and Sylva are counting on their current and past achievements as governors, respectively, Eradiri is hoping that his outing as a former commissioner and president of Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC) and the yearning for a new order, especially among the youth, would earn him votes.
In all, the threat of violence during the poll is real. Already, the atmosphere is getting charged even before the commencement of political campaigns, with intimidation rearing up.
This much was confirmed by the governor at the DSP Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall, Government House, Yenagoa, recently, where he said credible intelligence at his disposal indicated that some people were acquiring weapons ahead of the November 11 election.
When he assumed office as governor on February 14, 2020, Diri assured Bayelsans of his determination to complete projects started by his predecessors and of course, initiate new ones that would further open up the state and make most parts accessible.
And true to his declaration, Diri has continued to mobilise contractors to key projects across the three senatorial districts in the spirit of continuity and breaking new grounds for development.
According to his Chief Press Secretary, Dan Alabrah, prominent among the projects are the Imiringi and Elebele bridges in Ogbia Local Council; 6.5-kilometre Igbedi community road in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Council, of which 4.5 kilometres have been completed and inaugurated; Phase 2 of the 10.8km dual carriageway Glory Drive (from Igbogene by the Ecumenical Centre) to link Tombia road and ongoing 22.2-km Yenagoa-Oporoma road in Bayelsa Central inherited from past administration.
Alabrah listed other projects as the 42-km Sagbama/Ekeremor road in Bayelsa West; Nembe Unity Bridge in Bayelsa East; 21-km Outer Ring Road from Elebele to Igbogene, seven kilometre Igbogene-Okarki junction and Phase 2 of Isaac Boro Expressway in Yenagoa.
Addressing journalists recently, the governor’s aide on New Media, Kola Oredipe, added that his boss had prioritised the opening up of far-flung communities in the creeks to Yenagoa to create the enabling environment for commercial activities to thrive.
Oredipe stated: “We are also trying to expand the state capital, Yenagoa, through the Glory Drive and outer ring roads. By the time those two roads are completed, you can be sure that we will have new development areas in Yenagoa.
“So, the Prosperity Administration of Governor DouyeDiri is committed to completing all the ongoing projects in the state.” Oredipe noted that Diri, in the past three years, has spread development to different sectors such as education, health, sports, agriculture and infrastructure, including roads, and is continuing with the inherited and strategic ones in the three senatorial roads.
These, he said, the governor is doing to open up several riverine communities to new economic opportunities, with the Sagbama/Ekeremor road, linking over eight communities, already hitting Ekeremor town.
In the Central, he said the road has reached the Angiama community, with the bridge across River Nun into Oporoma ongoing, while in the East, the governor is determined to complete the Nembe-Brass road.
Underground campaign activities have started, but not in the open yet. The last few months have witnessed some APC members joining the PDP, including Felix Oboro; Seiyefa Brisibe; Ebikitin Diongoli; Warman Ogoriba; Henry Ofongo; Sodaguo Festus-Omoni; Bolous Indiamaowei; Mike Epengule and Graham Ipigansi. This has further raised the stakes.
But Diri’s supporters remain optimistic that with his achievements in office and the backing of former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, immediate past governor, Senator Seriake Dickson, and Chief TimiAlaibe, the governor is in pole position for the race.
On his part, Sylva boasts of a formidable political base, which appears threatened by recent events, as well as membership of the ruling party at the centre, even though Diri led his party to win a majority of 17 seats in the state House of Assembly election early this year.
Sylva, as governor, recorded some achievements, including completion of the state judiciary complex, Government House Phase II, Transparency Building, Yenagoa Business Office, Modern UBE Schools across communities, 52 link roads in Yenagoa , new House of Assembly Estate, building and furnishing of multi-billion naira Glory Land Castle, new commissioners estate etc.
He built and furnished the Nigerian Law School in Yenagoa and initiated an amnesty programme to boost the state’s security and economy.
In an interview, Sylva said he is contesting the election because of the gaps that needed to be filled in the development process in the state, adding that the Diri’s administration was not equal to the task of making Bayelsa genuinely prosperous.
He stated: “I feel the government of the day is not doing well. There is no clear pathway that I can see to progress and develop. Where are they taking us to? I can’t see.
“Yes, there are patches of things being done here and there, but that really is not the solution. We must see a clear pathway. Everything you are doing must be geared towards a journey to development. Where is the current administration in Bayelsa taking us to?
“They talk about prosperity, but can you believe this government is about prosperity? There is nothing prosperous about the situation in Bayelsa. Look at Yenagoa, does it look like a state capital?
“Nobody is talking about the flood situation yet, because it has not happened. There is no preparation for something that is impending. Then when it happens, we start running helter-skelter. What sort of fire-brigade governance is that?
“We think that it is time for us to come in and bring everything together. There are dots everywhere that we need to connect to be able to create a pathway for a sustainable future for Bayelsans. That’s really what we are going to do.”
Despite internal crises within his party since his emergence as its candidate, he remains upbeat. But the cases refused to die; instead, more issues and disagreements continue to arise.
Recently, Sylva insisted that he was never elected governor on two occasions, denying allegations that he was previously elected on April 14, 2007 and May 24, 2008.
In a counter-affidavit he personally deposed to, in reaction to the originating summons filed by a member of his party, Chief Demesuoyefa Kolomo, praying the court to order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to delete his name from list of candidates contesting the election, the former minister told Justice Donatus Okorowo of the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja that he had only occupied the office of the Governor of Bayelsa State on one occasion. I was elected as the governor of Bayelsa State on May 27, 2008.
“Contrary to Paragraph 5 of the affidavit (attached to the originating summons), I know that by virtue of the Court of Appeal judgment referred to, that is now reported as Amgbare vs. Sylva (2009) 1 NWLR (Pt. 1121), there was no election in Bayelsa State in 2007,” he argued.
He insisted that it was within his constitutional and legal right to contest the election, adding that the provisions of Sections 180 (2)(a) and 182 (1) (b) are not applicable to him and cannot validly and legally disqualify him from contesting the election, and that the questions raised in the suit were raised in bad faith and malice.
The court has fixed September 28, this year for judgment in the suit. In addition to that, there is fire in his backyard, as some of his kinsmen are divided over support for him, with about 28 chiefs and prominent indigenes of Opu-Nembe, Basambiri community in Nembe Local Council recently driven into exile by its youths, for attending Sylva’s recent birthday party.
The last has not been heard of the matter, but Sylva continues in his quest back to Government House, allegedly backed by former Rivers State governor, NyesomWike, who many believe is taking him to the powers at the centre, among others to drum up support.
In any case, Sylva would have to reconcile with the camp of his former political godson, David Lyon, who he edged out of contention for the race at the primary election. Many party supporters had expected the former governor to support Lyon to emerge as the party’s flagbearer, but the kingmaker decided to be the king this time around. Since then, all has not been well in the state chapter of the party and this manifested during the last general elections, where it could not upstage the ruling party in the state.
Political analysts say it will be difficult for Sylva to win the governorship election with a divided house, so he needs to reconcile genuinely with the aggrieved party members.
For Eradiri, the outcome of the general elections in the state and political apathy of the youth since then could dampen his chances. But the activist is not giving up.
Eradiri blamed the underdevelopment of the state on incompetent leadership, restating his commitment to job creation and development of the state, insisting that the state was going through challenges created by past and present leaders, including Diri and Sylva.
“We lack competent leadership in the state. If you compare Bayelsa State with other states in the country, you will discover we are backward in every indices and yet, we are supposed to be the richest state, in terms of allocation accruing to us. We have had trillions of naira over the years, yet nothing on ground to show for it.”
The LP candidate also took a swipe at the present administration for allegedly abandoning existing structures and building new ones in the health and educational sectors of the state.
Eradiri said he does not want to be part of those just complaining; hence he joined the race to offer his services and youthful energy in a social contract with his people, adding: “Even though I am young, I have garnered adequate experience and developed myself enough to govern and improve the living conditions of the people by efficiently deploying public funds that accrue to Bayelsa.”
The coming days will surely present a clearer picture of where the state is headed in the election, as proper campaigning starts, where as usual, money would play a major role in swaying votes.
