Frontline contestant for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket in the Bayelsa State governorship race, Timi Alaibe, has asked his supporters to maintain peace as issues arising from the list of returning and electoral officials for the ad-hoc delegate elections are being addressed by the party leadership at the national level.
Mr Alaibe is objecting to the inclusion of certain names on the list contrary to the party constitution and guidelines for the conduct of a peaceful primary.
The names, it is alleged, have been inserted to put certain aspirants, especially those of Governor Seriake Dickson’s Restoration Group, at advantage.
Alaibe, a former special adviser to the president on Niger Delta affairs sees this as a deliberate calculation to create confusion and frustration in their futile desire to destabilise his aspiration to lead Bayelsa.
“They have failed this time around because no degree of intrigues, no amount of manipulation and propaganda can push me out of this race. Nothing will change my decision to lift the lot of our people through purposeful leadership. I am here to stay and together we will win,” he declared.
He said the method that is making the primary in Kogi State a smooth and rancour-free exercise is being thwarted in Bayelsa State for very narrow and selfish reasons.
The irreducible minimum according to him is to provide a level-playing field for all aspirants to test their acceptability among the delegates to the primary election. He pleads with the party leadership to avoid decisions that could imperil the chances of the PDP in the main election.
“While winning to us is not a do or die affair, the process of choosing the party flag bearer should be made unquestionably transparent such that in the end, the outcome would be acceptable to all so that we could stand as one to face the real opponent,” Alaibe said.
The former managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) wants all his supporters to note that appropriate steps have been taken to notify the party leadership of the on-going attempts to compromise the primary election processes and expressed confidence in the capacity of the party’s national leadership to right every wrong.
“Our supporters and friends should, therefore, remain calm and stand firm believing that the national leadership of our great party would intervene and do the right thing,” he advised.
