Bayelsa governor blames forces in PDP for tearing party apart

Ward, council congresses hold in Kogi
Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has blamed some forces in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for tearing the party apart.

Dickson spoke yesterday during his monthly media chat in the state.

According to him, these forces have not allowed the PDP to form a formidable opposition since it lost the last general elections.

He said the party still has a lot of work to do before it could take over power from the All Progressives Party (APC) at the centre.

He said: “I think that the PDP is suffering from having a preponderance of people who had never tasted opposition politics. All their politics had always been with the party at the centre, which deploys everything to win elections.”

Dickson, who was the Chairman of the PDP Reconciliation Committee, said he did everything possible to build a consensus, but regretted that the forces were against a cohesive and strong party that could take over power at the federal level.

“I quite agreed with the former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, who said that the PDP had disappointed the people, because it was not proving to be strong as an opposition party.

On payroll fraud in the state’s public service, he announced the opening of direct dedicated phone lines for whistle blowers to report fraud cases in the system.

Meanwhile, the party in Kogi State has concluded its ward and local council congresses.

The State Publicity Secretary, Bode Ogunmola, said this in a statement in Lokoja yesterday.

He said the peaceful congresses, where new party executives emerged through consensus arrangement, was devoid of the usual divisions caused by the “imposition of candidates and impunity.”

A member of the House of Representatives, Bola Fabola, who monitored the congresses in Yagba East Local Council said: “It was very peaceful, inclusive and a reflection of the mood in the area.

Also, a party leader in the state, Senator Tunde Ogbeha added: “We had consensus candidates for all the positions, without any acrimony and we rallied the new local council executives to upgrade the unity of the party.”

Ogunmola said the party’s defeat at the November 21, 2015 governorship election was attributed to intra-party division, which made some prominent members to defect to the APC, which was then in the opposition.

He announced that some old members of the party, who defected in the wake of the crisis, had returned to the party.