Governor Seriake Dickson and former Governor Timipre Sylva are set for the battle of wits for the control of the soul of Bayelsa State, SIMON UTEBOR writes
The battle for the Creek Haven, the Bayelsa State Government House, is now a straight fight between the incumbent Governor Seriake Dickson and former Governor Timipre Sylva.
Sylva, the leader of the All Progressives Congress in the state was returned as a candidate for the APC in the governorship primary that took place in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, on Wednesday.
The struggle to get the ticket of the party was not an easy one for Sylva, popularly called by his admirers and loyalists as the Opuabadi (the sea).
The first primary of the APC, held at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex in Yenagoa, on September 22, 2015, ended in a fiasco.
It was marred by violence, which resulted in the holding of the election committee Chairman and Governor of Edo State, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, hostage.
Oshiomhole was rescued hours later after the military and the Department of State Security operatives went into the stadium and smuggled him out.
Sequel to the ugly development and outcry by other aspirants, including Ndutimi Alaibe, one of Sylva’s albatross at the primary, the John Odigie-Oyegun-led National Working Committee of the party had to cancel the primary.
The new dates – September 29 and 30 – were taken for the rescheduled internal election. However, it was clear that some national leaders had preference for Sylva, whom they argued had toiled enough to nurture APC in the state to a formidable platform.
It was also learnt that the leaders, who gave an unwritten instruction that Sylva should be delivered as the candidate by all means, prevailed on Alaibe to drop his ambition in the interest of peace and party unity.
Alaibe was said to have been promised a federal appointment before he agreed to step aside, paving the way for Sylva to emerge the party’s candidate without any rancour.
Observers say that Sylva’s emergence as the APC governorship candidate notwithstanding, he still has great hurdles in Governor Seriake Dickson to cross in order to land in the Creek Haven on February 14, 2016.
Dickson, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, is not a Liliputian in politics Sylva could ride roughshod over.
Political pundits believe that the emergence of Sylva and Dickson will reenact the 2011 episode in the state where the duo met at the front line of political battles.
Though Dickson defeated Sylva during the contest, it was believed that he could achieve that feat then because he had the backing of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who was the President at that time.
Observers believe that this time around, the permutation is likely to change since Jonathan is no longer the President and Sylva’s party, the APC, is in the saddle.
They also say that given the political antecedents of Bayelsans as pro-centre people, the change of guards at the centre might likely affect the chances of Dickson.
It is believed that if the permutation was anything to go by, irrespective of whether Dickson had performed or not, Sylva is likely to carry the day on December 5.
But this belief is like a discordant tune in the ears of Dickson, who believes he has all it takes to retain power.
The governor has oftentimes stated that the APC does not pose a threat to his re-election.
Recently at the 2015 Ojude Oba Festival in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, where he was a special guest of honour, Dickson, who was accompanied by former Governor Diepreiye Alamieyeseigha, urged Nigerians to discountenance the criticisms and allegations against his party by the APC.
He had said, “For all of us in Bayelsa, we know there is no challenge, contest or threat of any kind. All you have heard or read about us is all propaganda. There is no APC in Bayelsa to threaten us.”
Dickson also dismissed the plot by the APC to win the governorship election in the state, saying the party would wait till eternity to actualise its dream.
He said his government was not ruffled by the recent defections of some PDP members to the APC, boasting that if the APC thought the defectors, whom he referred to as “political miscreants,” would help them to win election, it was dead wrong.
He said his government was preoccupied with changing the lives of Bayelsans for good as was already evident in its transparent administration and commitment to good governance.
He mentioned landmark infrastructural development, empowerment of the people, free compulsory qualitative education, social welfare payments to the elderly and unprecedented health infrastructure as some of his achievements that had endeared him to the people.
When Sylva mooted his idea of going into the race, Dickson then advised him to drop his ambition, saying there was no vacancy in Creek Haven and that the people were wiser now than before.
Dickson had told him point blank, “You cannot be governor of Bayelsa State again.”
He reminded him that his era as governor was the darkest in the history of the state.
The support of Dickson by Jonathan, Alamieyeseigha, Jonathan’s wife, Patience, and other political juggernauts in the PDP has also added more impetus to his unshakeable belief that he remains a man to beat at the poll.
He also highlighted his acclaimed grassroots support, super political structures, records of performance and his party’s control of 21 out of 23 lawmakers in the state House of Assembly, control of the eight local governments and super security structures in place, particularly in the landed areas of the state, as some of his selling points.
But Sylva, while telling the governor that he was the best foot for the poll, said the PDP “is dead in Bayelsa.”
He had during an interview recently accused Dickson of ruling the state by fear and intimidation.
Sylva had said, “Governor Seriake Dickson is ruling the state by fear and intimidation. And when you rule your people by intimidating them, then the loyalty is liable to break under any form of stress.
“Once you rule a people by fear and not love, it will break. The time for that loyalty to break is now.”
Some observers believe that the battle with Dickson for the soul of Bayelsa is not the only obstacle that Sylva has to contend with.
They say Sylva has much to say to the people of the state that if given the mandate again, he wouldn’t reintroduce his dreaded security outfit, Famou-Tangbe (kill and throw away), which they alleged terrorised the indigenes, particularly his political opponents.
They also allege that during the first tenure of Sylva, different cult groups reigned supreme as most communities in the state were turned into red zones.
They claim that it was when Dickson took over that the state got some respite as he clamped down on cult groups and forced some to renounce their membership.
They contend that another albatross on the neck of Sylva is his alleged corruption case still with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
They say until the matter is disposed of, the APC governorship candidate may still be haunted by that albatross.
It is believed in some quarters that Sylva needs to placate his co-contestants for the primary in which he was returned as the APC candidate.
This school of thought believes that if Sylva shoves everything aside and fails to court their support and collaboration, some of them who are still peeved by his emergence may go for his jugular.
Indications that not all the aspirants accepted Sylva’s victory at Wednesday’s primary emerged when some contenders exhibited hostile disagreement face to face with the election panel.
There was, however, a brief protest at the venue of the election when Diekivie Ikiogha led some aggrieved aspirants to the area, accusing the Brig.-Gen. Mansur Dan-Ali panel of shutting them out of the exercise.
For about an hour, Ikiogha, Prof. Tarila Tebepah, Pastor Apirila Tonye and Austin Ogiohwon kept the panel chairman busy with their protests.
Ikiogha said the panel arrived the state without meeting with them to intimate them of the modalities for the election, alleging that the committee came with a mandate to stop them from partaking in the exercise.
He said, “This election is worse than the previous exercise that was cancelled. We are aware that a new list of delegates was compiled the previous night (on Tuesday) for the purpose of the election.
“This is not the change we advocated. We are appealing for the cancellation of the election.”
But the committee chairman insisted that the process was transparent and appealed to the aggrieved aspirants to maintain peace.
After lodging their complaints, the angry aspirants walked out of the venue of the exercise and refused to come back till the end of the election.
This may not be the case with Alaibe, a former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, who was the greatest fear of Sylva.
It was learnt that the national leadership, knowing that Alaibe’s contest might upset Sylva’s emergence, pleaded with him to withdraw with a promise of a national appointment.
Sylva’s camp was said to have heaved a sigh of relief when Alaibe withdrew from the race.
Sylva in his victory speech commended Alaibe for his show of understanding by throwing in the towel for the interest of the party.
He implored him to join hands with him to ensure the party’s triumph in the December 5 governorship election.
Sylva’s message was succinct: “We are going to sweep away the garbage, we are going to sweep away hunger, we are going to sweep away lies and unfulfilled promises characterised by misgovernance of the Dickson-led government.”
As the battle line is now drawn between Sylva and Dickson, December 5 will decide who occupies the Creek Haven on February 14, 2016.
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