Ahead of the Bayelsa PDP Governorship primaries, Governor Seriake Dickson has insisted that he would not support any candidate outside the Restoration Group of the party.
The Governor also disclosed that the leadership of the Restoration Caucus would decided on an aspirant to support in the primaries before the September 3, 2019 elections.
A statement by the Special Adviser, Media Relations, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, quoted the governor as having made the remarks while inaugurating the Restoration Governorship Primary Election Committee in Government House, Yenagoa, on Monday.
The Governor said supporting any aspirant of the PDP outside the Restoration Group was one heavy moral burden that he was not prepared to carry.
He stressed that his upbringing and values which place emphasis on the reward for the sacrifice of loyalty and steadfastness would not allow him to turn his back on those who stood by him through out his years as leader of the party.
He also hinged his decision to support a Restoration aspirant on the imperative of continuity, effective service delivery, and commitment of Restoration caucus to the socio-economic growth of the state.
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The Governor dismissed those accusing him of refusal to support some aspirant insisting that it was his right to decide who to back in the forthcoming gubernatorial primaries of the PDP In Bayelsa State.
Governor Dickson also urged the members of the party to ignore the rumor masterminded by some political interest that the newly elected party chairmen and councillors were not qualified to be delegates in the election.
He said that there was no law in the PDP that prevents elected local government officials from becoming delegates in the primaries.
He said, “There are people who fought to stop our chairmen and councilors from participating in the last election and they failed. The propaganda out there is that our elected chairmen and councilors are not going to participate as delegates in the election.
“Let me make it clear that no one by the rule of this party will prevent elected council officials from voting as delegates. No one will stop them from entering the venue to vote for a candidate of their choice.
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“We have agreed to elect a candidate for our party from the Restoration team. I will fail in my responsibilities and values if I abandon those who have supported me, who have been through thick and thin with me.
“The way I was brought up, it is support for support and loyalty for loyalty. You have to be on board on this for the Restoration Team.
“My support will go to a loyal, committed member of the Restoration team. Not to do so will leave a very heavy moral burden in my heart which I am not prepared to bear.”
He stressed that he was not a bystander in the process to elect his own successor but a key stakeholders to support any candidate of his choice for the collective good of the state.
He charged the party members not to succumb to propaganda and blackmail calculated to sow seeds of discord within the party.
He noted that, the newly inaugurated committee’s mandate involved the mobilization of the delegates both at the ward and local government headquarters for the task ahead.
He said that the supporters and key players of the Restoration Team which recorded a resounding electoral victory over the opposition in the last election were intact.
He urged the people to be resolute in their support for the leadership of the Restoration even in the face of glaring blackmail by some persons with the intent to rubbish them.