Ugochukwu Ezeagwula
A group, Concerned Peoples Democratic Party of Bayelsa State, has accused the state governor, Mr. Timipire Sylva of insincerity in his handling of the party in the state.
The spokesperson for the group, Chief Furoebi Akene, who stated this at a news conference in Abuja on Monday, said the governor had refused to accommodate all the factions of the party in the state, despite entreaties by the PDP National Working Committee which called for a fresh congress in the state.
It, therefore, said the presidential ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan could be jeopardised if the party allowed the state government to use an illegal executive to conduct the congress.
The group alleged that the votes from the congress would then become a nullity since the executive was not recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
He said the electoral body had in a letter dated June 23, 2010 and signed by the Secretary of the Commission, Alhaji Abdullahi Kaugama, listed Bayelsa as one of the states, where its congresses were annulled.
He said, “You will agree with us that in times like this when political activities have reached a fever pitch, there is need for all and sundry to apply justice and fair play.
“As loyal party members, we are worried that the present state of affairs in the party in Bayelsa State is extremely precarious: INEC has repeatedly warned that PDP candidates that will emerge from states (Bayelsa inclusive) where congresses were not conducted or properly conducted in year 2008 will not be recognised.
“The consequence of this is obvious—it will spell doom for our great party in the general elections.”
Apart from this, the group also alleged that the state governor was planning to pick delegates for the primaries, in spite of the avowed commitment of the national secretariat to a fair contest.
“Political developments and the situation of the party executive in the state clearly indicate the ominous sign that His Excellency, Chief Timipre Sylva, governor of Bayelsa and his handpicked nominees will be automatically returned as PDP candidates without a level playing field, in clear contradiction to Mr. President the commitment to conduct of free, fair and credible elections.
“Specifically, we have been informed that the executives at the ward, local government and state levels, who will be delegates in the forthcoming primaries of the party, remain those the NWC and the INEC have long declared not duly elected.
“If an agency of government says what you want to do isn’t known to law, then, it is a nullity. If you insist, it shows high handedness and disobedience to law.
“If an executive isn’t known to law and every action taken by the body isn’t known to law, that means our votes for the presidential primary election could be a nullity.
Responding, Sylva said on Monday that he was not surprised at the comments credited to the group.
Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Mr. Nathan Egba, who spoke on Sylva’s behalf, said if the politicians were sure of themselves, they should prepare to face the people.
“There is no reason to attempt to discredit a process that has not even started. If they have confidence in their capacity, they should prepare for the primaries instead of blaming their lack of popular acceptance and imminent failure on others,” he said.
Meanwhile the chairman of Sylva’s faction of the PDP, Chief Rufus Abadi, resigned from the party on Monday.
Enough of this blackmail of Sylva trying jopardize Goodluck's presidential ambition, Bayelsan, must we play politics with everything? If you don't like the man, vote him out when the time comes, is as simple as that, stop pitching him against Mr. President, it's disgusting.
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