ADVERT RATE

The upset arising from the Supreme Court verdict nullifying the governorship mandate of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State is far from over, OSA OKHOMINA writes from Yenagoa.

The ripples caused by the February 13 Supreme Court judgement in Bayelsa State is yet to settle. The apex court verdict which nullified the governorship mandate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) held by David Lyon and handed same over to the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Douye Diri, sparked series of political fireworks in the state.

Despite Governor Diri extending an olive branch to APC leaders in the state, the dust raised by the court verdict is yet to settle.

While most APC supporters have accepted the reality of what befell their party, others are still venting their spleen, perhaps misguidedly, on some notable leaders in the state.

The Jonathan Saga

Advertisement

As reality dawned in the state after the court verdict, a group known as the APC Restoration Group said it was riled by alleged actions of former President, Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan over the aborted inauguration of the party’s candidate, Lyon.

The Supreme Court ruling had thrown confusion into APC’s camp which had made adequate preparations for Lyon’sinauguration. It was learnt that payments had already been made to several vendors providing services, hotels, transportation, catering and general logistics for the event.

The APC group however stirred up fresh controversy when it, out of the blues, asked Jonathan and his wife to make a refund of N300m and bullet proof cars given to them by Lyon for the inauguration.

Lyon, according to the group, had paid for the use of Aridolf hotel owned by The Jonathans for four months as sources said, Lyon had wanted to run his government from that hotel pending the completion of the intended renovations of the Bayelsa State Government house.

The former President has always been in the mix of the political situation in the state during and after the election, largely by virtue of his status. With the way the former governor, Seriake Dickson, managed the PDP, Jonathan a member of the party had, in the build up to the election, seemingly distanced himself from affairs of the party.

Nevertheless, as a former president, Lyon upon emerging winner of the election had paid him a visit after his victory same way Diri did after he was given the mandate through the court.

However, Jonathan was irritated by the allegation of the group. He stressed that it was part of a conspiracy against him and his family.

The former president in a statement signed by his spokesman, Ikechukwu Eze, refuted claims that he received N300 million or bulletproof cars to support Lyon, describing the allegations as fictitious and provocative. He further challenged anyone with proof of such payment to make it public.

The former president stressed that there was no reason for APC or anybody else to offer money and vehicles to himfor logistics over an inauguration programme in which he was not involved.

“We make bold to state that there is no vehicle in the possession of former President Jonathan given to him by the All Progressive Congress. This is an insufferable lie. If anyone on earth knows of such a vehicle, they should expose the particulars of the said vehicle to the public.

“The claim by this group is therefore nothing but a fairy-tale scripted to tarnish the good reputation of the former President whom Nigerians and the rest of the world hold in very high esteem. It is a poor script written with the intention of causing distrust and inciting Bayelsans against themselves.

“What Bayelsa needs now is peace, unity and progress, and not this noxious orgy of mud-slinging and mischief-making. As far as we are concerned, the Bayelsa elections have been won and lost at the polls and the courts; we therefore urge all groups to accept the transition in good faith,” he added.

A PDP group in the state under the aegis of the Forum of Collective Ideas for Development (FOCID) joined the diatribe by accusing leaders of APC of sponsoring what they called the “unwarranted attacks” against the former president.

The PDP group said while its investigations shows that the APC Reformation Forum is used by some APC politicians, they noted that the purported allegation against Jonathan and his wife is an open blatant and fictitious lie.

The PDP group, in its statement issued and signed by its coordinator, Comrade Tony Ile, stated “The former President remains a father-figure to all and if at all there ever exists a gift from David Lyon to him as a mark of honor and respect, such a gift did not come from any government quarters but from someone perhaps who shows respect and honor for elders and there is nothing wrong since he did not ask for it in the first place.

“We are calling on these frustrated and diabolic group of person and their paymasters to further desist from maligning the sterling democratic qualities of a man who is still being celebrated all over the world as the face of modern democracy instead of venting their frustration and their botched inauguration on such a gentle and peace loving man,” they said.

Again, Diri and Sylva lock horns

Governor Diri tries to leave no one in doubt over his position on security and threat to lives and property in the state.

Last Thursday, he toured some areas in the state destroyed by thugs. The homes and properties destroyed belongedto PDP chieftains, including the immediate past Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, the incumbent Governor, a member of the Federal House of Representative, Steve Azaiki, whose library known as the Steve Azaiki Library was completed vandalized. The headquarters of the Bayelsa Radio Corporation, Radio Bayelsa was also vandalised.

However the governor sparked controversy when he blamed the national chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomole and minister of state for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva for the protests that led to the destruction of properties.

Diri alleged that the statement credited to Oshiomhole on February 13 after the Supreme Court judgement, and to Sylva, the next day on same issue, triggered the riotous protests that led to wanton destruction of properties worth millions of naira.

According to Diri, “l am tempted not to believe that these people are Nigerians not to talk of being Bayelsans.You know it is very easy to destroy and if these are supporters of the APC, what the national chairman of the APC said in Abuja after the Supreme Court which is the highest court in the land has given a ruling, and challenged the ruling of the supreme court that there will be no governor in Bayelsa state, that ignited the riot in the state.

“In Imo state when the Supreme Court delivered a judgement, there were protests, not one or two or three days, they were very peaceful. Not one property was destroyed. However, in Bayelsa state it is a different ball game. The APC in the state has always been associated with violence, destruction of lives and property.

“You can recall that two days before the governoship election, I went to Nembe for campaign and we were attacked. We lost about twenty of our members. Here on the 13th of February after the apex court had delivered ruling, you now saw this level of brigandage, barbarism and primitively visited on their own properties. Radio Bayelsa is their own property.

“As if what the national leader of the APC said on the 13th of February was not enough, after I had been sworn-in, the minister for petroleum, after initially calling for calm which was suspicious to some of us, truly being what he was, he came out smoking by declaring that the governor of Bayelsa state is illegitimate,” Diri said.

Sylva, minister of state for Petroleum Resources and former Governor and leader of the APC in the state, replied the governor. Describing Diri as a replica of his predecessor, Dickson who chases shadows and fabricates lies, Sylva said the claims that he and Oshiomole instigated the violence are as absurd and preposterous as they are wrong.

The minister said it was amusing that the governor is trying to connect acts of post-election violence in the state to him.

Sylva, in a statement issued by his special assistant on Media and Public Affairs, Julius Bokoru, said it is important to note that being a statesman and advocate of peace that he has always been, called for calm from all parties both on national TV and papers

According to him, “It is sad that Senator Diri cannot start his governorship on brighter notes, but rather, seeks to continue on the listlessness of his predecessor by obsessing over Sylva. Diri is advised not to tow that path and not to be haunted by the specter of Sylva’s shadow.

“Indeed, a snake cannot give birth to anything other than a snake, and while these, including early morning automobile loans, foreshadows a ruinous run, it is sad for a state still grappling with man-made economic sterility.

“The easier thing for someone with a jaundiced mandate to do was to pray for God’s forgiveness, especially for the utterly ambiguous means used in procuring that judgment. It is, however, left for God to decide if the anomaly that happened at the Supreme Court would hold.’

“It is still too early to start shopping for sparring partners. The simple advice to Senator Diri is that he should haul away drama and focus on the task of governance before him,” he said.

Apparently, the back and forth between the two leaders is unlikely to douse anytime soon as they continue to scheme for political mileage in the state. But pundits aver that for a state that has suffered violence before, during and after the last election, it is imperative that the security of lives and property remain sacrosanct in the state.

SOURCE: LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPERhttps://leadership.ng/2020/03/18/bayelsa-still-on-the-residue-of-scourt-verdict/

To Advertise or Publish a Story on NaijaLiveTv:
Kindly contact us @ Naijalivetv@gmail.com
Call or Whatsapp: 07035262029, 07016666694, 08129340000

Comments

comments