Southern Ijaw—Mr. Peretimi Angasei, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, has advised Governor Douye Diri and the PDP family in the state not to leave any stone unturned in the November 11 guber race.
“Chief Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives Congress, APC, looks desperate to become Bayelsa governor again, thus the PDP ably led by the Miracle Governor must continue to get its acts together,” Angasai said in a statement sent to Mangrovepen.ng on Monday.
He noted that the self-styled prosperity administration has maintained relative peace, empowered small business ventures and built roads and other critical infrastructures across Bayelsa.
“The prosperity-driven administration which has made Bayelsa a safe haven for all and sundry no doubt deserves a second term,” he stated.
While boasting that most Bayelsans are willing to reelect Diri in the forthcoming gubernatorial election, Angasei pointed out that a possible division within the ruling party remains a threat and must be prevented at all costs.
In his words: “Like many Bayelsans, I am sure Governor Diri will win in all the eight local government areas with a wide margin because he is by every criterion better than his opponents.
“However, it is said that a divided house will always find it difficult to stand and a case in point is the divided and confused Bayelsa APC family with many disheartened stakeholders and members.
“The PDP must fight against such a division. We must continue to remain knitted and work together for the reelection of our Miracle Governor who has proven time and time again that he means well for the state.
“One way to keep the party united is to urgently reimburse aspirants who picked the expression of interest and nomination forms in the last national and state assembly elections now that Pa Diri’s funeral has been concluded.
He said compensating the PDP aspirants would not only be a redemption of an earlier promise made by the governor himself but also stimulate the affected party stakeholders to be more committed to the party and the forthcoming election.
“Another thing Governor Diri must do to increase the party’s chances of winning is to urgently appoint competent grassroots politicians to oversee the Rural Development Areas (RDA) and also mobilize the state electoral body (BYSIEC) to conduct the local government polls.
“With such offices occupied by faithful party men and women I do not see how the APC or any other party will be able to stand PDP in the coming election which to me has already been won,” Angasei concluded.