How will the All Progressives Congress (APC) handle the barrage of aspirants ahead of primaries for the Bayelsa State governorship election? Osa Okhomina writes.
Typical of Nigeria’s kind of politics, the political party at the center tends to attract more aspirants for elections, especially in states under the leadership of an opposition party.
Ahead of the December 5, 2015 governorship election, in Bayelsa State, a PDP controlled state, the situation is no different.
Going into the guber polls, the pressure is on the APC to ensure that the process leadin to the emergence of its flagbearer does not result in an implosion in the party.
While the PDP has only two aspirants, the APC has 16, among them heavy weights that are not showing signs of backing down for the other.
Timi Alaibe, a former managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), former presidential adviser to the late President Umaru Musa YarÁdua on Niger Delta Affairs, one time governorship aspirant of the Labour Party (LP) and a former chieftain of the PDP is having a nerve wrenching battle for the ticket of the APC come September 22, 2015.
There is also the leader of the Party in the state, Chief Timipre Sylva. Sylva, who was recently honoured in his hometown in Okpoama community of Brass local government council area of the state, is another politicians that picked the party’s nomination and expression of interest forms, inspite of an earlier promise not to run in the December 5 governorship race.
According to one of Alaibe’s loyalists, a former senator, Branbaifa, the stakes for Alaibe have suddenly become higher, and the battle has just began.
“On our part as democrats, we believe in the rule of law. And if you go down memory lane, APC has organised presidential and governorship primaries, and the most recent was in Kogi state. It was free and fair. The free and fair that we are talking about is a two way thing. If a party has good policies, if the party knows what is good for the party, it will always come out with policies that will not enable anybody create an atmosphere that will create unnecessary rancor.
“The thing is that the party is noted for organising credible primaries and because the party has that record, every aspirant will abide by the rules so it will definitely be free and fair.I am absolutely confident because we have worked hard. This is not a situation where we will sit down at home and canvass with the delegates. We will go out, we will meet them, we will sell our candidate to them and I think without mincing words, we can conservatively say that if we go into the primaries today, we will get 75 per cent of the total votes,”Branbaifa said.
Continuing, he said people like him decided to pitch tent with Alaibe after sampling opinion because what was neded at this time was to et a formidable candidate that can face the former overnor (Sylva), adding that because Alaibe’s records stand him out, there was no way the people of Bayelsa state would not be happy with his candidature.
“They will be happy because that is the right candidate. If barely four years ago, the former governor was pelted with sachet water, I don’t see at least for now, the people changing their minds so soon and forgetting the reason why they pelted him with sachet water.
“So, for me, I believe that Bayelsa would be given the right choice so that there will be no question of the people getting angry. We are pretty sure that a better candidate will win in the first ballot and Bayelsans will be happy for it. So, when he comes up as a candidate of the APC, Bayelsans will massively vote for the APC,” he added.
Findings by LEADERSHIP Sunday indicate that Alaibe and Sylva are already miles ahead of other contenders in the hunt for delegates for the APC governorship primaries in the state.
LEADERSHIP Sunday gathered from sources that already, Alaibe has secured about 850 delegates in safe locations within and outside the state wile Sylva may have also secured the delegates votes of members of the party’s state executive committee and some local government areas, particularly Nembe and Brass.
Also known to have a share of the delegates ahead of the APC primaries is the former Bayelsa Central Senatorial candidate of the party, Hon.Preye Aganaba. He was said to have refused to let go of his delegates in attempts at horse trading with the duo of Alaibe and Sylva.
Aganaba’s refusal to trade his number of delegates was based on the anger at the rising political prowess and support for Alaibe within the party.
Investigations by LEADERSHIP Sunday showed that the voting pattern, which was initially handed to Sylva changed recently, along the state, local councils and ward areas.
While the change in delegate voting pattern has been attributed to the alleged thinking that the emergence of the former NDDC boss will ensure victory for the party against the candidature of Governor Seriake Dickson of the PDP, others alleged that the rise in the number of delegates in support of Alaibe is due to financial inducement.
Sources within the APC said though wooing of delegates for the primaries is allowed due to the existing internal democracy within the party, the rising loss of delegates by Sylva’s camp is due to initial harassment and lack of monetary support.
Also attributed as working against Sylva is the alleged inducement of delegates by the Dickson administration for votes against Alaibe to allow Sylva’s emergence, for easy victory.
One of the governorship aspirants, Dr. Inuro Kubo, expressed concern over the alleged poaching of delegates by some aspirants and called on the delegates to vote the right candidate during the coming primaries.
Kubo, a former federal permanent secretary, who contested the 2012 governorship election against Dickson and still insisted he won, even after the Supreme Court verdict upholding the PDP victory, said he is worried by the amount of money involved in the lobbying of delegates.
According to him, “the delegates should know that they are offending God by collecting money to vote those to rule in the governorship primaries. The delegates should be dissuaded from voting because of money. I thought all the aspirants would be allowed to talk to the delegates and share their visions.And allow them make up their mind.
“I am not saying I am the best person but they should not be convinced with money. If they are influenced by money, they have lost it all. That means they have lost the trust of over two million Bayelsa people. That means they have sold off their conscience. They should desist from voting because of money.But if they decide to vote any candidate other than me, I will support the candidate.”
He further stated that despite the complaints forwarded to the national leadership of the APC, the issue of corrupt practices being introduced into the governorship primaries was becoming more worrisome.
“If the federal government formed by the party is against corruption and the yet-to-be formed government in the state is influenced by money politics, what do you think will happen?”
One of the founding fathers of the APC in the state, Chief Richard Kpodo, has however called on delegates participating in the party’s governorship primary election to shun corruption and vote wisely for a credible contender.
Kpodo, a former special adviser on security matters in Sylva’s administration, said in an interview in Yenagoa, on Thursday, that the choice of candidate would make or mar the chances of the APC in the December 5 election.
He said, “I am advising the delegates to vote wisely. They should not be persuaded by whether the aspirant is a leader of the party or not. The delegates should go all out to get a sellable person that can lead the party to victory. We are going to a battle and we are fighting an incumbent, so, they should vote for a trusted person.”
Kpodo, who is known to have fallen out with his former boss, Sylva, has launched a campaign against his possible candidature. He warned against voting for Sylva, saying the former governor, who is also the leader of the party in the state, was a “bad product.”
Kpodo warned that the APC would lose the forthcoming election woefully if Sylva is fielded as the party’s flagbearer. He said his reasons were predicated on the fact that Sylva could not be trusted, coupled with the albatross of the charges of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) hanging on his neck.
The party chieftain said, “Sylva cannot be trusted. I want to advise the delegates to be very careful and vote for the right person with the exception of Sylva.Sylva has a lot of skeletons in his cupboard. One, he is not truthful and second, he has nothing to offer except lies and deceit. What has he done for Bayelsa people? A man who was governor for five years does not have a single structure in Bayelsa, even in his village. He hates Bayelsa.
“I will not like Sylva to be candidate of the APC because I do not like Bayelsa state to be mortgaged. Anybody supporting Sylva wants Bayelsa to be mortgaged.”
He further accused Sylva of betraying him and his followers, saying that he risked his life and business to support Sylva during the most trying moments, yet the former governor ended up maligning and blackmailing him.”
“I risked my life for him. In the state, I was declared wanted by the Department of State Security and the police because I stood by Sylva. Loyalists of former President Goodluck Jonathan were looking for me all over the place. I was distraught.
“At a time, we had no money to pay for hotel bills again. We and Sylva had to go to some people to solcit for money. Even at that, we did not realise enough and I had to sell some of my property to raise money to pay hotel bills and other logistics to continue the struggle because we believed that backing out then was dangerous.
“As we are going for the primary election in the state, the truth must be told that we do not need someone like Sylva as a flagbearer for the APC because if we do, I tell you, we will lose woefully in the governorship election. We need a credible man that can drive the process,” Kpodo added.
Continuing, he said Sylva’s boasts that he built 50 internal roads in the state during his tenure amounted to less than 20 kilometres when put together, and was therefore nothin to reckon with, adding that reports by the EFCC had shown that hundreds of buildings were recovered from Sylva in Abuja and none in Bayelsa, an indication that he has no love for Bayelsa and its people.
“President Muhammadu Buhari is fighting corruption and Sylva’s case is in the court. So, we can’t accept him. We need a credible candidate that can stand the opposition and so, he should step aside. The national body of the APC should listen to us as great mobilisers and people on ground.”
Despite the seeming swelling opposition against his emergence, from within the party, Sylva appears not to be perturbed.
The former governor has called on his supporters to remain steadfast and focused on the goal of winning the December 5 governorship election in the state.
Sylva, in a statement issued by his media adviser, Mr. Doifie Buokoribo, stated that, “I appeal to all our supporters, delegates, and the entire APC family in Bayelsa state to stay focused, positive, and determined as we wait for the new date, September 22, fixed by the national headquarters of our great party for the primary election in the state.
“My participation in the governorship race is borne out of a firm decision to help steer our state away from the current course of political confusion and economic hopelessness, and return it to the path of freedom, progress, and hope, the foundation upon which our founding fathers had agitated and won the struggle for a distinct political territory within Nigeria. That resolve, having been backed by the popular opinion of our people, I assure you that we are on course,”the statement read.
Continuing, he expressed confidence that come Tuesday, he would emerge candidate of the party for the election.
“The primary election is just a process to our ultimate goal of retrieving our collective political destiny from the PDP grabbers who have arrested the development of the state since 2012, and fulfilling it for the good of all,” it added.
Sylva, who is also the leader of the APC in Bayelsa state, equally appealed for calm and understanding among APC members in state, saying, “we should de-emphasise the small differences that necessarily accompany primary elections like this and focus our attention on the big picture, the collective responsibility of rescuing our state from the stranglehold of a few intolerant despots masquerading as politicians in PDP. We will win. Bayelsa must be free. Bayelsa must progress. Bayelsa must change with the wind of change blowing across the land.”
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