- Ijaw land needs a ‘Governor-General
By Aaron Ukodie
The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has said that the power to ensure a level playing, in the primaries of the party holding in Bayelsa and Kogi, on September 3, lies with the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) executives and the working committee.
The IYC spoke at the heels of reports that the outgoing governor of Bayelsa, Seriaki Dickson, was perfecting plans to impose his candidate on the party.
The IYC also said Bayelsa needs a governor with the same charisma as that of late Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha, who was referred to as Governor-General, because of what he represented to the Niger-delta course, in fighting for true federalism and resource control.
The Council’s president, Eric Omare, who spoke to eWorldNews yesterday, said if the party follows its rules strictly then it would be difficult for any body, including any incumbent governor, to impose his candidate.
“I expect the PDP to follow its rules, as they did during the various primaries leading to the 2019 general elections which were applauded by all. I do not expect them to do otherwise”
Omare, who denounced reported moves by Dickson to impose a candidate on the party, said though, the governor has the right to support any candidate of his choice, it would be wrong for him to do so through wrong methods.
“There should be a distinction between supporting a candidate of one’s choice and imposing a candidate”, he said, adding that once the party follows its rule the influence of an outgoing governor should diminish and would be minimal.
“I do not see the influence of the governor having any weight”, at this point, he said.
Omare said Dickson should learn from the experiences of some of his colleagues, such as Rochas Okorocha of Imo state and Ibukunle Amosun of Ogun state, who sought to impose their candidates on the party in the year they were vacating office.
Omare said Bayelsa needs an incoming governor who would be like Alamieyeseigha, not for the alleged corruption levelled against him in his last days, but in the manner that he fought for Niger-delta rights for resource control and true federalism.
The Ijaw land and the whole of Niger-delta needs a Bayelsa governor who can stand for the whole region and rally the rest of his colleagues to fight for the good of the region, because Bayelsa is the heart of the Ijaw nation.
Bayelsa needs a well-focused governor, Omare said, one who would develop the state more than the way it is now and also develop its human capital, adding that the level of development in the state does not match the level of resources that are available to it.
