Politicians seeking to contest the 2023 governorship election in Bayelsa State are already having sleepless nights trying to put in place various political gimmicks to realize their dream.
Interestingly they are not leaving any stone unturned in the fight for the office of the Chief Executive of Bayelsa state, as they all want to have a taste of the governor’s office and government house.
Although Governor Douye Diri of the PDP is unrelenting in drumming into the ears of whoever cares to listen that the number one position in the state will not be vacant, as of today about three prominent candidates have signified their interest to be the governor of the state .
Those jostling to strenuously to unseat Governor Diri and inhabit the beauty, splendour, glamour and style of the Governor’s office that flashes its glory and dazzling elegance and in fact one the most sophisticated governor’s office in the country are former Governor Timipre Sylva who was the immediate past Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Udengs Eradiri, a former commissioner for youths and later environment in the state.
While Sylva will be contesting under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Eradiri intends to pull an upset with the Labour Party.
Observers have said for some salient reasons, the impending battle for the governorship election in Bayelsa state is not just about ambition, but that of political survival and dominance of the political space in the state.
Unarguably, the election will be more of a flexing of political muscle between the incumbent, Senator Douye Diri and former Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, a situation that will make the battle very fierce and intriguing.
Like many of the elections that would come up, the Bayelsa election in the sense that it will be the first election, along with that of Kogi and Imo states, to be held under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Pundits have posited that how these elections are handled will certainly set the tone for what to expect in subsequent elections in the country.
With the stage set for the battle for the soul of Bayelsa State, the battle is mainly between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that has the incumbent governor who wielding the humongous power of incumbency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) and on the fringe, however is the Labour Party.
Given the new dynamics in the nation’s politics that enabled the Labour Party to pull upsets across the country in the last general election, the intrigue and action packed in Bayelsa State may shock the two major gladiators in PDP and APC as formidable and financially buoyant they are.
More so that the three candidates are former members of the PDP and each of them has enough foot soldiers to mobilise the electorate for their success in the election likely to come up in November this year.
Looking at the candidates, Governor Douye Diri, the current miracle Governor who got to office through a court pronouncement is a pragmatic governor and an achiever who more than any other governor before him has practically turned the state fortunes around in terms of developmental projects.
Aware of the circumstances of his emergence after the APC candidate in the election who had been declared winner, Mr. David Lyon, was stopped from assuming office, barely 24 hours before he was to be sworn into office he had ensured that the people of Bayelsa are proud of his achievements.
This feat has held him in high stead among the people despite the fact that he came to power through court’s pronouncements.
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Godfrey Nazuan said the Governor by a deliberate and determined deployment of a combination of legislation, policy, decisive and clear headed leadership, faced head-on the state of insecurity he met and has made the state bandit-free in the last four years.
Nazuan said that cultism and drug-fueled murders, kidnappings and militancy are all a thing of the past in the state.
“Within this period, Bayelsa is now practically one of the safest states in the federation, a situation which makes it a safe haven for investment,’’ he said.
The governor focused on one critical area of infrastructure development and has always claimed that the goal of his administration is to hit the shores of the Atlantic Ocean with roads since this is where the wealth of the nation comes from.
Available statistics showed that only 47 percent of the state’s communities are motorable and Governor Diri has assured that he intends to get it to 70 percent by end of his second term in office.
Since coming to power in February 2020, he has advanced the three senatorial roads started by previous state governments in conjunction and cooperation with interventionist agencies like the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to almost completion. These roads, the Governor insisted, will ensure that over 400 communities and villages which are in the deep backwaters of delta are accessible.
He said that he intends to hit Brass Island in the Bayelsa East Senatorial District, a strategic city on the fringe of the Atlantic Ocean where the Brass LNG project, the Brass Fertilizer project are located by the end of his first term.
Also work on the Sagbama-Ekeremor-Agge road in the Western District, a distance of over 110 kilometers where a deep seaport project is on-going is almost completed. The third flank of the project is the Yenagoa-Oporoma-Koluama in the Central District which houses the agricultural belt of state. Works on this project has also reached advanced stage and Diri is expected to tout these projects as part of his achievements.
The Governor believes that governance is a continuum and that all projects left uncompleted by his predecessor must be completed at all costs. He has practically lived up to these promises.
Right at the inception of his administrative action, Diri had declared a state of emergency in the educational sector; and today education is free from primary to secondary schools in the state. He has also made significant improvements in the health sector.
Despite these achievements, observers say the Governor’s belief in prudent use of resources and adverse disposition to unnecessary spending and unmerited giving in a place where most people believe in ‘stomach infrastructure’ may work against him.
For the former Governor Timipre Sylva who was also the immediate past Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and candidate of the APC in the November election he has all it takes to emerge the next governor.
He is not a neophyte in Bayelsa politics his governorship ambition has continued to receive boosts from various groups who are currently throwing their weights behind him for Bayelsa State plump job.
The Opu Nembe chapter of BRM Chairman, Chief A.J Ameri said they are supporting the former governor in the forthcoming November 11, 2023 governorship election.
The group in a statement co-signed with the co-coordinator, Chief Y.D Theo- Iruo, and secretary, Chief K.M Degi said it has unreserved pledged its support for Sylva, noting that it would rally its members and the people of Opu-Nembe to vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to the group, it would ensure it mobilises the people to reciprocate the love Sylva has shown for the people by voting him in as governor.
The group, therefore, urged the general public to disregard news targeted at discrediting Sylva, noting that it was the handiwork of disgruntled elements.
“In the same vein, we wish to assure Chief Timipre Marlin Sylva that Opu Nembe (Bassambiri) people are solidly behind his gubernatorial ambition, as well as to reciprocate the unequaled love he has demonstrated for the Opu Nembe Kingdom.
“The group therefore urges the general public to disregard whatever uncomplimentary remarks and frivolous allegations being peddled against him by some disgruntled elements in the community.
“The Opu-Nembe chapter of the Bayelsa Rescue Movement, wishes to vow in strong terms to do our possible best in making sure, Chief Timipre Marlin Sylva is elected Governor of Bayelsa State come November, 2023.”
Apart from the fact that this is the first time Udengs Eradiri, the Labour Party governorship candidate in the November 11 election will be contesting the governorship. He was a former president of the Ijaw Youth Council and a former member of the state cabinet under Dickson.
He is very popular among the youth who see him as one of them. The engineer told whoever cared to listen that he was compelled to join the governorship race to reverse the gross neglect of the developmental needs of the people of Bayelsa, who earned one of the highest revenue but ranked the second poorest in the federation.
His resolve to ensure the development index of Bayelsa is commensurate with its monthly revenue from the federation account will definitely endear him to the electorate.
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