•Other Aspirants Kick, Say, ‘We Won’t Step Down For Anyone’ • Sylvia, Alaibe Are Expired Politicians – Senator Ogola

By Rotimi Akinwumi and Innocent Oweh (Abuja)

There are surreptitious moves within the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to stop former Bayelsa State governor, Timipre Sylva, from emerging as the candidate of the party in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

Sources within the party confided in Daily Independent yesterday that the leadership might have settled for former Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Timi Alaibe.

It was gathered that certain powerful forces in the state, with the backing of some members of the national leadership, were scheming for Alaibe to emerge as the party’s candidate at the forthcoming party primary.

In a move at gauging the mood of the aspirants, a high-powered meeting of the leadership and the entire 19 aspirants took place yesterday at the APC National Headquarters in Abuja.

Present at the closed-door meeting were APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun; Deputy National Chairman (South), Olusegun Oni; National Organising Secretary, Senator Osita Izunaso, among other national executive members of the party.

Most of the aspirants who spoke with newsmen at the end of the meeting denied the plan to pick a consensus candidate, insisting that the party primary must be held in a transparent and fair manner which would produce the candidate who would get the support of the rest aspirants.

Competent sources close to the meeting told Daily Independent that the party leaders were beginning to favour Alaibe to fly the party’s flag believing that he had nurtured a ‘solid’ political structure in Bayelsa since 1999.

Prior to yesterday’s meeting, Sylvia looked good to pick the party’s ticket, given his role in promoting the APC since its formation in Bayelsa. But there was tough opposition to his candidature from majority of the members who see him as coming with a huge baggage of scandals as a result of his pending corruption trials in court.

Scandals

For a party selling on the pride of integrity, flying with Sylvia and his baggage of scandals for the governorship election in Bayelsa is being perceived as a costly gamble.

Sylvia had been battling with corruption trials on issues arising from his first tenure as governor of Bayelsa between 2007 and 2012.

He had a running battle with former President Goodluck Jonathan, who is also a Bayelsan, and no sooner he left office than he was confronted with a deluge of allegations over the misappropriation of the state’s resources.

Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), arraigned in court on Tuesday, June 5, 2012, charged with series of allegations of fraudulent deals involving N4.46 billion. Justice Adamu Bello denied him bail until two days later.

Sylvia had been arraigned on different charges since the initial charges, which the court had struck out because the court believed they were not properly consolidated and an abuse of court process.

There was a fresh charge against Sylvia and his alleged accomplices in June 2015. The case involving Sylva, who is being prosecuted by the EFCC, on a fresh 50-count charge bordering on stealing and money laundering came up for mention Thursday, June 25, 2015, before Justice A. F. Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Sylva was charged alongside Francis Okokuro, Gbenga Balogun, and Samuel Ogbuku.

They allegedly used three companies – Marlin Maritime Limited, Eat Catering Services Limited, and Haloween-Blue Construction and Logistics Limited to move over N19.2 billion from Bayelsa State coffers between 2009 and 2012.

Justice A. R. Mohammed of the Federal High Court had on June 10 dismissed the 42-count charge of stealing earlier brought against Sylva and his co-accused by the EFCC, with the excuse that the prosecution’s application to consolidate the charges before him against the defendants, amounted to an abuse of court process.

The commission, however, faulted the ruling on the grounds that it was premature as the accused persons had not even taken any plea before the court, and subsequently filed the fresh 50-count charge at the Federal High Court.

“Apart from the fact that they feel he cannot win the state, the leaders also think the former governor is yet to settle with the anti-graft agencies over alleged misappropriation of fund when he was the governor of Bayelsa State” one of the sources said.

It was gathered further that the yesterday meeting was called following complaints by some of the aspirants that one of them, had assembled all the delegates in one of the hotels in Omokwu area of Rivers State, out of their reach, ahead of the primaries.

Soldier Against PDP

In settling for Alaibe, the APC leaders were said to have rated him among other aspirants as a stronger soldier to lead the war against the incumbent governor, Seriake Dickson, who would most likely pick the ticket of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

Dickson has secured the backing of the former President Jonathan, his wife, Dame Patience, and top PDP leaders including former Governor DSP Alamieyeseigha.

However, the Senator representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Foster Ogola, has said neither Sylvia nor Alaibe was a match for Dickson, given the development strides of incumbent governor.

He said indices on ground showed that Dickson would pick the PDP ticket and go ahead to win the December 5, 2015 election against the APC, describing his contenders as expired politicians.

Speaking with journalists on Monday in Abuja, Ogola urged Bayelsans and Nigerians to “ignore expired politicians” who have been going about misinforming the public on the true state of things in Bayelsa State.

According to Ogola, contrary to the falsehood being peddled, Governor Dickson has transformed Bayelsa into a modern city, adding that the next four years would be used to consolidate on what he has achieved.

He said: “The PDP cannot be scared of Timi Alaibe’s entrance into the governorship race. Dickson is not scared of Sylva. President Muhammadu Buhari was elected because of his anti-corruption stance right from when he was Head of State. Why should APC be presenting characters having one case or the other? Timi Alaibe is not on ground in Bayelsa; he has not won any election.

“Bayelsans are determined to return Seriake Dickson. But some political charlatans are trying to misinform the public. Some expired politicians are the ones trying to mislead and misinform the public. They have no followers. They said in the interviews they granted that Governor Dickson has not commissioned any project since he assumed office. My senatorial district was not on the national grid until Dickson connected us.

“Governor Dickson runs an all-inclusive government. He pays the aged in the state and has saved so much money for the people because of financial prudence. Dickson has brought transparency into governance. Now, local governments give account and that is because Dickson ensured it. There is safety of lives and property. Night life is back. Nobody thought that flyovers were needed in Bayelsa until Dickson brought them.”

He wondered why the opposition was saying it needed to change guards, if Dickson has done very well.

“If APC is talking about fighting corruption, why will they field a candidate like Timi Alaibe? All the people they are fielding have one or two corruption cases hanging on their necks. When Alaibe was NDDC boss, did he develop the Niger Delta? He has no followership and therefore does not pose any threats.

“Let me tell you. Alaibe has no followership. He has never won any elections. He is a political gambler. He shops from one political party to another. Alaibe will not win in his own local government when elections are held on the 5th of December,” Ogola stated.

A founding member of the party in Bayelsa State, Perekeme Kpodo, had earlier cautioned the party’s national leadership against presenting Sylva, as flag-bearer of the party in the December 5 governorship election in the state.

Kpodo told newsmen in an interview that the idea of arm-twisting delegates to vote for a particular aspirant had affected the party’s chances of a credible primary election in the state.

He said: “If Sylva is given the ticket of the APC, the APC will scatter and it will lose woefully. That is exactly what the opposition is praying for.

“But if we bring any other credible candidate in the APC, you will see a serious fight. It is a battle. To win an incumbent, you know what it means and not people like Sylva.”

In an interview, one of the aspirants, a pastor, Mrs. Tonye Apraela, told newsmen that the party had not endorsed any aspirant contrary to speculations in some quarters.

Areapa also said she had not stepped down for anybody.

‘’The party has no consensus candidate for the Bayelsa primary. We were assured of a level playing ground; we are all going to seek delegates’ votes at the primary.

‘’We were charged on ways to conduct ourselves during the primary, we were told not to do anything that will tarnish the image of the party,’’ she said.

Another aspirant, Mr. Ebitei Francis, who served as commissioner for works under Sylva, who is also contesting the Bayelsa governorship, expressed optimism in the party’s ability to conduct free and fair primary.

Francis told newsmen that between 1,500 and 1,600 delegates were expected at the primary on September 19.

‘’One thing the party does well is free and fair primary. No petition from the Kogi primary and we believe that will play out in the Bayelsa primary. The issue of a consensus candidate is not something the party will practice,’’ he said.

Francis also said former President Jonathan’s endorsement of the incumbent governor was not a threat, saying the APC would win in the state.

“We as APC members do not see the former. That word is former. If you were former your activities, powers were former. Do they still have the power they wielded before?

“They don’t. I don’t want to dabble in the issues of the PDP but former is former, the present is what we should dwell on,’’ he said.

Another aspirant, Mr. Preye Anagaba told newsmen he was not worried about the rumour that delegates were camped by an aspirant in a hotel to sway their votes.

“They will vote from the venue not from the hotel. We are not bothered by that. You can take them to space but they will come back.

“Allow them to take the delegates; we are not scared; you can take the body, not the spirit; our delegates will vote,’’ he said.

It would also be recalled that 20 aspirants expressed interest for the state’s number one position but one has died.

http://dailyindependentnig.com/2015/09/bayelsa-apc-moves-to-stop-sylva-adopts-alaibe/

Were are my e-war frndz plz breakfast is ready

APC = PDP
No difference.

fergus0n:
Were are my e-war frndz plz breakfast is ready

They are outside playing ludo,lemme use my nokia 3310 and call them.

If they like, let them adopt Fashola and Lai Mohammed ... That zone is sooooooooooo PDP.


GEJ must be smiling ear to war now. He's like Don Colerne.

sylva don enter one chance

Between these two Olotu's (strongmen) Timi Alaibe has a better grasp of economic challenges confronting Bayelsa