Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has called on leaders and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state to eschew acts of disunity within their ranks ahead of the governorship election later this year.
The governor made the call, on Monday, while attending the State Executive Committee meeting of the PDP at the party’s secretariat, in Yenagoa, the state capital.
Governor Dickson reviewed the last election and told party members that the forthcoming governorship election would not be a battle with the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) alone but with the federal might as represented in federal institutions.
He said going by the experience of the 2015 governorship election as well as the recently concluded general elections, this year’s election would be a greater challenge and as such all hands must be on deck.
He decried political violence which he ascribed to the APC, stressing that the opposition party knew it had no chance of winning any election in the state and as such resorted to violence, an attribute he said belonged to the politics of old era.
“In the last elections, they wanted to take over everywhere. So in this year’s election, we are not contending with APC or their candidates but the institutions of the federal government, the federal might”,, he said.
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The governor commended the state executives and other party leaders and members for their hard work and dedication which, he said, gave PDP victory in the last election as he urged them to be steadfast towards the next election.
He said his administration has brought about stability in the polity, saying the political culture now differs from the past when disagreement and disunity reigned between the governor and deputy, incessant impeachment in the state’s House of Assembly and intra-party feud leading to instability.
He stressed that even those who contested election with him in other parties or held opposing views are now holding top positions in his government and urged Bayelsans to cultivate a new attitude of peace and harmony.
Earlier in his address, the state’s chairman of the PDP, Hon. Cloepas Moses, had commended party members and congratulated winners in the last election.
He, however, warned them to be vigilant as he said there were plots by the opposition party to infiltrate their ranks to cause disunity.
He also commended Governor Dickson’s leadership which he said had brought peace, unity and dividends of democracy to the people.
The interim report of the party’s disciplinary committee was officially presented at the meeting.
Present at the meeting were the deputy governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John-Jonah (rtd), the Speaker, Kombowei Benson, PDP BoT member, Remi Kuku, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, Hon. Fred Agbedi and other members of National Assembly, Restoration Caucus chairman, TKO Okorotie and other party executives.