Why Late Bayelsa Deputy Gov Turned down My Advice To Join Diri In APC – Sen Dickson

Former Bayelsa State Governor and Senator representing Bayelsa West, Henry Seriake Dickson, has  revealed that he told the late Deputy Governor Lawrence Ewrudjakpo to accompany his boss, Senator Duoye Diri to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He however said Ewrudjakpo refused to go with his boss because of principle and conscience.

The former governor, who stated this yesterday during a live press conference at his residence in Toru-Orua, Sagbama local government area of the state, said he however cautioned the late deputy government against turning Government House into a party meeting ground which he respected.

The senator also said there is no political crisis in the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), following the death of Deputy Governor Lawrence Ewrudjakpo.

He also dismissed a claim that the late deputy governor had become a rallying point of the PDP in the state.

Dickson addressed concern about the future of PDP in Bayelsa, especially claims that the late Ewrudjakpo had become a rallying point for party members after refusing to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He dismissed the idea and said steps were taken to avoid political conflict inside Government House.

He said. “What I told Ilawrency when he took that decision not to go with his boss, I told him not to play any active or do PDP activities in government house and so on. I said don’t do that. I have told you to go with them, you said you don’t want to because of your principle and conscience.

“I respect that but don’t, in that office that I built and you supervised; where the governor is in one wing, you the deputy governor in one wing. I don’t want a situation where you are calling party meetings, I said don’t do that and he agreed with me.”

The former governor described himself as a stabilising force who has chosen to stay calm and quiet in order to protect the state from crisis, even when provoked by political actors.

“I am the father of the government… people expected this place will boil but I’m stomaching a lot, tolerating and managing a lot. Keeping quiet, keeping far for a reason and we are making progress.”

He also defended Governor Douye Diri for stopping comments that could have created division over political differences among top officials.

Dickson rejected claims that Ewrudjakpo was secretly mobilising PDP supporters, blaming such narratives on rumours and propaganda common in the state’s political environment.

“So Ilawrency was not galvanising people, no. People may have given that colouration and you know Bayelsa, our people like rumour, propaganda, blackmail.

“I knew them, that was why I never allowed, I never listened to any propaganda. I never allowed him to play that rallying point, no. He wasn’t any rallying point,” he said.

Dickson, however, stressed that the main reason for meeting the press was not politics but to honour the life and service of the late deputy governor, whom he described as humble and loyal.

He said he had avoided speaking to the media since leaving office in 2020 but felt it was important to speak now, even as the state continues to mourn.

The former governor also expressed deep personal grief and thanked Nigerians from all walks of life who attended the burial or sent condolences, saying the turnout showed how widely respected Ewrudjakpo was.