…Gov Appoints New CPS
…APC NWC Shifts Primary To September 3, 4
Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, thursday dismissed insinuations that he had sealed a deal with the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, on the next governorship election in the state.
Dickson, in a statement by the his Special Adviser on Media Relations, Fidelis Soriwei, enjoined members and leaders of the APC in the state to leave him alone and deal with its internal problems, rather than embark on chasing shadows.
Rumours were rife sometime ago that the governor had several hours of consultations with Sylva and other national leaders of the APC in Abuja, with an undisclosed understanding reached during the meeting in Abuja.
The governor said he was too focused to be distracted by a failed attempt to drag his name into the internal problems of the opposition APC in the state.
The statement said the governor’s major focus was to produce a credible candidate that would defeat any candidate presented by the APC in the November 16, 2019 gubernatorial contest in the state.
Dickson added that it was common knowledge that he had worked hard to decimate the APC in Bayelsa State and was getting ready to defeat the party at the polls as usual.
He stressed that the PDP candidate, who would ride on his record of performance and the enthronement of peace and stability, would retain the PDP control of political power in Bayelsa with a resounding victory.
“The PDP which has been in control in Bayelsa since the commencement of democratic governance in 1999 does not need any secret deal with the APC to defeat the opposition party. There was no such deal contrary to the mischievous rumour about purported meetings.
“The governor led the PDP on several occasions including the last general elections to defeat the APC even when the party had become an opposition party at the national level,” Dickson maintained.
He added that the PDP was only waiting once again to confront the APC in the election, calling on the leadership of the APC to prepare for an election and not a war, stressing that the party had a penchant to use federal forces to maim and kill during elections as was the case in the last election.
Meanwhile, Dickson has approved the appointment of Mr. Fidelis Soriwei as his new Chief Press Secretary.
Soriwei, who until his new role, was the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media Relations.
He takes over from Francis Ottah-Agbo, who has since resigned from the position, contested and elected a member of the House of Representatives, representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency of Benue State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The governor, in a statement by his Commissioner for Information, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, confirmed the appointment, saying it takes immediate effect.
Meanwhile, the National Working Committee NWC of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC has again shifted its governorship primary election in Bayelsa state from August 31 to September 3 and 4. APC logo Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, spokesman of the party said in a late Friday statement that the shift was in deference to to a court order.
“In deference to a court order, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has shifted the date for the Bayelsa governorship primary to Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4, September, 2019”, he said.
Originally scheduled for Thursday, August 29, the party had first shifted the exercise to Saturday, August 31.
The APC hierarchy also announced its decision to adopt the direct method of primary election, saying its decision was informed by the request of the State chapter of the party and majority of party stakeholders in the state.
