Bayelsa 2019: Can PDP get a consensus candidate?

Fresh moves to resolve the lingering disagreement between two major interest groups within the Bayelsa Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have led to talks for a possible emergence of a consensus candidate before the proposed primary election. In this report, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, examines the possibility of this development and reports

THOUGH the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is the ruling party in Bayelsa State, its preparation for the November 16 Governorship Election has remained most intriguing. This is because there has remained increasing fear in the state that except something concrete is done to resolve its internal crisis before its scheduled September 3 governorship primaries, it may loss the state to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 16, 2019 Governorship Election. This is because of fresh troubles threatening the unity of the party in the state.

Party sources said the general feeling today is that it may be better for the warring ‘factions’ to consider negotiation for a consensus candidate since, according to them, such an arrangement would more likely accommodate the various interests.

Taking cognisance of the result of last week’s local government election, in which PDP was declared the winner of all the eight seats in the election conducted by the Bayelsa State Independent Electoral Commission (BYSIEC), some casual observers had said the ruling party is still in firm control of the oil-rich Niger Delta state. But some insider observers said during the week that the real picture is significantly different given that the main opposition political party, APC, did not partake in the said LG election because of some alleged irregularities.

The Nation also learnt that the lingering disagreement amongst the leaders of PDP in the state has left the party more divided today than it has ever been since 1999 when it first took over the governance of the state. As Engr. Adagogo Abbey, an insider puts it, “even during the 2015/2016 governorship election, when the party lost most of its leaders to APC also because of disagreements, the remaining members of PDP then were more united than what obtains today in Bayelsa here. That was why the remnants were able to stand behind the party candidate then, Seriake Dickson. PDP or Dickson won then, not because the party was not troubled, but simply because PDP members knew who was where. Everyone knew who was still in PDP and who had defected to APC then. Today, it is more of an internal quarrel and I can say that if nothing concrete is done before the primary elections so as to select a generally acceptable candidate, the party members may end up fighting themselves to the advantage of the opposition APC. This confusion is mainly because of the suspicion that Governor Dickson’s inner political cycle, the Restoration Caucus, wants everything for itself,” he said.

Closely related to this issue is the icy relationship between what some insiders identified as two major camps in Bayelsa State’s PDP  the ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s group and Governor Seriake Dickson’s restoration government caucus.

Abbey explains that what has made it difficult to resolve the suspicion between the two factions is the secrecy that has surrounded the disagreement over the PDP candidate to succeed Dickson. According to him, “both the former President, Goodluck Jonathan, and Governor Dickson have pretended in public to be on the same page, but everybody here knows that the battle line has long been drawn over which camp should provide the PDP candidate for the coming election.”

Another source, who would not like to be named, told The Nation during the week that while most members of Jonathan’s camp still favour the candidacy of Timi Alaibe for the PDP’s governorship ticket, it has become increasingly clear that Dickson and his supporters may fight against it. The governor, the source said, is determined to crown the Secretary to the State Government, Kamela Okara, as the party’s candidate.

But feelers from some members of the governor’s camp however suggest that Okara’s choice may not have been sealed finally as some influential members of the party close to Dickson are believed to be pushing for the candidacy of Dr. Nimibofa Ayawei, the Chairman of Bayelsa State Board of Internal Revenue.

CALL FOR TRUCE

Former President Jonathan while confirming this fear recently, during the PDP Elders Advisory Council meeting at Government House, Yenagoa, ahead of the November 16, 2019 election, warned that only unity can ensure victory for PDP in the forthcoming governorship election. He called on the leaders and members of PDP in the state, including the 21 governorship aspirants on the ticket of the party, to work together in a bid to retain victory.

A statement by the Special Adviser to Governor Dickson on Media Relations, Fidelis Soriwei, after the meeting of PDP’s Elders Advisory Council, quoted Jonathan as saying that the PDP had all the requirements to record a landslide victory at the governorship poll.

He quoted Jonathan as saying at the council’s meeting: “I need to plead with all the aspirants and all political leaders that there should be no mudslinging. We must free the space and eschew rancour because finally one person will become the candidate of the party and for that one person to win the election, all aspirants must work for that person.

“It is only our unity that can give us victory and if we are not united, they (APC) can get away with it.

“For example, it took the unity of the people of Rivers State, including women who were resolute against soldiers, to get the PDP victory in the state. If that had not happened, they (opposition) would have taken it.

“For us to secure this state for PDP, we need maximum unity and that is why all the 21 aspirants are important to us; we must have that maximum unity and must not create any form of division or discrimination.

“At the end of the day one person will emerge and all of us will work for whoever emerges as candidate of the party,” he said.

The fear over whether the two leaders and their supporters would finally support a single candidate for the governorship election had been heightened by reports in the media that Dickson is now in full control of the party and that he is determined to choose his successor in November with little or no consideration to what the former President’s supporters may think.

The analysts who make this permutation base their conclusions on the outcome of the last general elections in the state where all the PDP candidates that emerged victorious in the National Assembly and House of Assembly elections are said to be the governor’s loyalists.

Out of the 24 seats in the House of Assembly, for example, it is believed that 20 PDP lawmakers are known Dickson’s loyalists. Based on this, Jonathan’s loyalist express fear that the governor will use his control of both the party structure and elected officials to dictate who would fly the party’s governorship flag.

But in our earlier report on this, we had quoted Dickson as saying he would not impose any candidate on the party during the primary election. He gave this promise during a solidarity visit to the Chairman of Daar Communications, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, when the National Broadcasting Commission suspended his company’s license.

Dickson gave the assurance while responding to a question over the internal wrangling in the Bayelsa State chapter of his party and if it was true he had perfected plans to impose the PDP governorship candidate for the November Governorship Election.

He said then: “The people talking about manipulation are anticipating that they should be imposed. I’m not going to impose any of them. Any of them who feel they have experience and capacity should go and make their case to the people of Bayelsa State.

“I hope the right person with competence and capacity emerges to build on the foundation which we have laid over the last seven years. I have no doubt that the right person will emerge with my support.”

He also boasted that his party will sweep the governorship election. “The PDP is the most prepared party. I have in the last years built a solid, formidable and an all-inclusive party, such that even those who left, found it as the most attractive platform to return to,” he said.

He however confirmed that party leaders like Jonathan and himself have important roles to play. Dickson said “the party leaders will play their roles and the delegates ultimately will decide who the candidate shall be.”

We learnt that such understanding has already led to talks about the emergence of consensus candidate for PDP. The details of how the two ‘factions’ would arrive at the proposed candidate are yet to be disclosed. But we observed that both Jonathan and Dickson’s supporters are insisting that their leaders must play prominent role in determining who would fly the party’s flag.

For example, Awoda Ayiba-Tara, a PDP member in the state, told The Nation during the week that it is not true that Dr. Jonathan have lost total control of the party machinery to Dickson. “Many of us still see the former President as the leader of PDP today, not only in Bayelsa here but also across the country. No one, not even Governor Dickson, can honestly deny that the national leadership of the party will easily take into consideration any piece of advise given by the former president on a critical issue like who should fly the PDP flag. That apart, the feeling among most experienced politicians here in PDP is that the aspirant that is believed to enjoy Jonathan’s support has the needed experience and political weight to deliver PDP in the state. So, what remains is to resolve whatever may be responsible for Dickson’s seeming disagreement with that choice,” he said.

He condemned Dickson’s recent comment, who said during the official flag off of campaigns for local government elections that if delegates and leadership of the PDP give the governorship ticket to somebody not endorsed by him and his restoration family, the party could jeopardise its chance of retaining power in the state. As the governor puts it, “Let me tell you, Oforoma-Pepe (Dickson) is in charge; there is no candidate or aspirant in PDP, none of them that can lead our party to victory during the governorship election without my support, forget about those making mouth; we are the support base of PDP in Bayelsa.

“Those who are boasting that they will take the governorship primary away from Yenagoa to another state, let me tell you, that kind of thing cannot happen at all. This year’s governorship election will be a clash between federal might and state might, just like what happened in 2015.”

He warned party members against supporting unfaithful people seeking for the governorship position in the forthcoming election, describing those he called unfaithful members as “butterflies to the party”. He explained that supporting the unfaithful persons for a governorship aspirant would ruin the party’s plans and chances of winning the governorship election on November 16. “We have rebuilt PDP in the state, and we are going to defeat all other political parties,” he had said.

But media reports on the public utterances of the two leaders since the recent meeting of the PDP Elders Advisory Council confirmed that efforts at reconciling the various interest groups within the party in the state may have begun to yield positive results.

As we reported earlier, since the inauguration of the council, both Jonathan and Dickson have publicly spoken well of each other, thereby giving impression that they may have resolved to work as a family.

It would be recalled that it was Jonathan that started it all when he commended Dickson, saying the state has taken shape under Dickson’s administration since 2012.

A statement by Dickson’s aide, Fidelis Soriwei, said the former President actually praised Dickson for building a befitting edifice as office complex and official residence for the governor and the deputy governor.

He quoted Jonathan as saying, “Let me use this opportunity to appreciate the governor for this office. I am saying this because this is the first time I’m entering the office and luckily all of us here are part of this story from 1996 and then of course as politicians when we took over May, 1999.

“I knew that we started by using a bungalow, the party secretariat as the Government House office and so on; the governor started from living in a bungalow, the deputy also in a bungalow; that was how we started and now the state has taken shape.

“We are now in a standard office; the governor is also residing in a standard house; so Bayelsa State is progressing. So, I thank the governor very sincerely. I always say that if you have the opportunity to be a head somewhere, president or governor, chairman of council or any other position, you should be able to add value to the environment.”

PDP members in the state also confirmed that of recent, Dickson has been less confrontational in his public utterances. Commenting on the preparedness of PDP to retain the state, Dickson had advised members and aspirants to avoid pursuing their ambitions at the expense of the party.

“The ambitions are legitimate but we must note that what is important is our unity and cohesion within the party,” he said.

Observers said such guarded utterances suggest new resolve to allow level playing field in the forthcoming elections. The governor went further by naming former President Jonathan as his Honorary Special Adviser on the Bayelsa Education Trust Fund Board. Dickson told newsmen that his action was in recognition of Jonathan’s educational strides when he laid a solid foundation for the state’s education system as governor.

IS CONSENSUS CANDIDATE POSSIBLE?

Some insiders said if such love and mutual respect are sustained, there is now the possibility of Bayelsa PDP to get a consensus candidate even before the proposed September 3, 2019 primary election.

Ayiba-Tara, for example, is of the opinion that consensus option would be a better strategy to get an acceptable candidate. “The political atmosphere here is already tense. Some of us believe that the party may not be able to manage a credible contest. So, it is better to negotiate and come up with a consensus candidate. Thank God that the national leadership allows such option. For us today, the choice of allowing the winner to take all will not be in the best interest of the party, given the prolonged suspicion amongst the various interest groups.”

It would be recalled that PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, recently confirmed the possibility of holding talks on PDP consensus candidates in both Bayelsa and Kogi states. He was quoted as saying that, “aspirants are talking among themselves for concession. Meetings are being held at various levels to agree on the possibility of having consensus candidates. As far as the party is concerned, we are set for the primary election.

“So, those who have filled and submitted the forms will appear on the day of (primary) elections, (and) will participate in the elections.

“If there is agreement among the aspirants for consensus candidate, it is welcome. If the aspirants and the party can achieve that, it is welcome. And if it is a contest, it is welcome. Our party provides for that. So, either way, the party is ready,” he said.

As at today, the PDP aspirants for Bayelsa governorship election include the incumbent Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah; former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Timi Alaibe; the Senator representing Bayelsa Central Senatorial District, Douye Diri; a member representing Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency, Frederick Agbedi; Mr. Anthony George-Ikoli, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN); Teriale Oliver and Mr. Tobin Igiri, among others.