Yenagoa—The Bayelsa state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has held its state congress in which 36 executive committee members were elected, with Barr. Dennis Otiotio emerging as Chairman of the Party.
The conduct of the state congress was held at the state party secretariat located along the Mbiama/Yenagoa road.
It was gathered that Senator Degi Eremienyo, two members of the House of Representatives, Hon. Isreal Sunny-Goli and Hon. Preye Influence Oseke, where some of the stakeholders at the congress.
According to Leadership newspaper, the faction of the party reportedly led by former minister of agriculture and rural development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri boycotted the exercise, citing the subsisting injunction before a Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State
It was gathered that the leader of the party in the state who is also the minister of state for petroleum resources, Chief Timipre Sylva was also absent for unexplained reasons.
DCP Yusuf Aurelius Adejo (rtd), the chairman of the 7-man state congress committee, described the conduct of the congress as peaceful and a family affair.
The member representing Southern Ijaw Federal Constituency, Hon. Preye Oseke, in his remarks, commended the conduct of the exercise.
According to him, the emergence of Barr. Otiotio as the chairman of the party will lead to the birth of a new and rejuvenated party at the state level.
Oseke said that “as a seasoned lawyer, politician and administrator, Barr. Otiotio will reach out to all stakeholders and carry everyone along in the affairs of the party.
“To those that are aggrieved in all states of the federation, I want to admonish them that APC is a grassroot, socialists and participatory party where the people matter most than we that lead them.”
“And I believe that with the people behind us, the APC will win the 2023 elections. In Bayelsa, we worked hard in 2019 and we won.
“Now that it later became a PDP state, we will not stop at winning the Governorship election in 2023.”
Whereas at the factional secretariat of the APC located at the Dimrose junction, it was reported that there was no conduct of a parallel congress.
Speaking to newsmen, the state chairman of the Senator Lokpobiri-led faction, Fala Itubo, said holding a parallel congress would be amiss given that there is a subsisting court injunction, which is binding.
“How can we conduct congresses when there is a subsisting court injunction? You remember what happened in Rivers State? We don’t want to make that same mistake.
“As for the reconciliation committee set up by our party leadership at the national level, whatever they want to do must not be about the minister of state for petroleum resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, and Senator Lokpobiri alone but should involve all stakeholders of the party.
“I wish to appeal to all party faithful to remain calm,” he stated.
A Chairmanship candidate in the Lokpobiri-led camp, Chief Peres Peretu also stated that a parallel congress would go against the subsisting court ruling which he says has its implications.
“We met and thought it wise not to go ahead of the congresses because of the subsisting injunction. For all I know, the other party is disobeying court order.”
“As a law-abiding citizen of Nigeria, more so as a legal practitioner I know the implication of disobeying court orders or doing anything contrary to court orders and directives.”
He further disclosed that “Long before the purported congress of today, I have discussed with my political family, close relatives and professional colleagues and concluded that I will have nothing to do with the purported congress.”
