A former Secretary-General of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC)
and one time student union leader, Mr. Captain Ozu has criticized the rumoured
ambition of three political heavyweights to contest the Bayelsa State
governorship election scheduled for 2016, describing them as greedy.
A former Governors of Bayelsa State, Diepreye
Alamieyeseigha and an ex-Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development
Commission (NDDC), Chief Timi Alaibe, were said to be scheming to be governor
on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Others said to be eyeing the party's tickets were a
leader of the APC and a former Governor of the state, Chief Timipre Sylva; a
former Commissioner for Health, Chief Frank Akpoebi; a Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Power, Godknow Igali, and APC Chairman in Bayelsa state, Mr. Tiwe
Oruminighe.
Alamieyeseigha was impeached on December 9, 2005, two
years into his second term in office, on allegations of acts of malfeasance.
Reacting to their ambitions, Ozu told journalists on
Tuesday that some of them have decided to indicate interest in Bayelsa
Government House because they are greedy and broke.
He said, “Most of these so-called leaders are broke
and have become liabilities both to themselves and members of their family. If
you check very well, the only reason why these men want to get power is to
enable them enhance their economic well-being. The aim is not to serve the
people but to serve their pockets. Bayelsans are not fools. We know their
antecedents and when the time comes, we will disgrace them at the polls”
It was reported that Preye Aganaba (aka Prince of
Odi), who lost his senatorial bid, is being prepared by Rivers State Governor,
Rotimi Amaechi to go for the governorship slot on the platform of APC.
A source, who spoke in confidence, said
Alamieyeseigha, the state's first elected governor, was nurturing his ambition
to return to the Creek Haven, the sobriquet for the Government House in
Yenagoa, on the platform of APC.
The source said the former governor and Igali are
plotting to wrest power from the Governor Seriake Dickson.
Sources said that they have been meeting for the past
two weeks in Abuja to fine-tune their plots.
The source added that both men met last Friday at the
late Oronto Douglas' home, after a condolence visit, to discuss their plan.
Alamieyeseigha became governor in 1999 and was
re-elected for a second term in 2003.
But he was embroiled in allegations of corruption and
money laundering.
He was impeached by the House of Assembly, prosecuted
and convicted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
His deputy, incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan,
succeeded Alamieyeseigha, in 2005. The ex-governor got the President's State
pardon on March 12, 2013.
The source said: “Alamieyeseigha is eyeing the
governorship seat. His plan is to make a return to the seat of power in 2016.
He has been holding a series of meetings with some APC stalwarts.
“He is assuring the APC leadership that with him at
the helm, the militants would feel comfortable. He is saying Governor Dickson
is not liked by former militants, citing the clash between the governor and
ex-agitators over pipeline contracts.”
But when reminded that President-elect Muhammadu
Buhari has a zero tolerance for corruption and may not allow the likes of
Alameiyesegha to become candidates of the party, the source said the former
governor is banking on his closeness to some APC leaders.
The source said: “He is banking on his relationship
with some national leaders of the APC to market him to Buhari because he knows
that ordinarily, the President-elect would not give him a chance, regardless of
the Presidential pardon granted him.
“But we know that Dickson still stands a good chance
of retaining his seat in 2016, given his performance and strong progressive
contacts within the APC as a former member and leader in the Alliance for
Democracy (AD).”
But another source in the APC said the state
leadership of the party had placed an embargo on the influx of defectors
pending the swearing in of the President-elect.
Without the embargo, he said a gale of defections to
the APC would have hit the PDP in the state.
“Major PDP stakeholders are warming up to join
the APC in the state. We are going to be busy welcoming them. Most of them will
be coming with governorship ambitions,” the source added.
0 comments