APC lacks ability to win Bayelsa guber election – Jonathan

By Patrick Okohue

Former President, Goodluck Jonathan has said that the opposition All Progressive Congress (APC), in Bayelsa state lacks the political presence at the ward, local government and state levels to win the November 16, governorship election.

Jonathan, who stated this during the PDP elders advisory council meeting at Government House, Yenagoa, noted that the large number of aspirants on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) speak volumes of the dominance of the party as the preferred platform for election.

A statement by the Special Adviser to the Bayelsa state Governor on Media Relations, Fidelis Soriwei, quoted the former President as saying that the PDP has all it takes to record a landslide victory in the forthcoming election.

The former President who commended Governor Seriake Dickson, the state Chairman of the PDP, Moses Cleopas and all critical stakeholders, including the 21 aspirants for working for the continued stability of the party, said that it is important for the PDP to get its acts together so that it would not create room for opportunistic platforms to steal the party’s victory.

“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 the 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 for 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 advised.

In his remarks, Gov. Dickson stressed the need for members of the party to forge a united front to maintain its dominance and control of power in the state starting with the local council elections billed for August 10.

He therefore, called on all members of the party, particularly the governorship aspirants to work hard for the victory of the chairmanship and councillorship candidates of the PDP in Saturday’s election.

According to Gov. Dickson, the large number of governorship aspirants only shows the democratic nature and style of leadership of the PDP and called on the national leadership to complement the efforts of the state in providing a level playing ground for all the aspirants.

The governor explained that if he had taken a decision to stop aspirants from picking the form, the reactions would have affected the peace and stability of the party.