ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
Political allies of Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri, under the auspices of the Friends of Senator Douye Diri (FSDD), have dismissed insinuations in some quarters that there is a rift between Senator Seriake Dickson and the governor.
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and President, FSDD, Chief Bodi Arerebo, made the declaration on Friday at a news conference in Yenagoa, the state capital.
He averred that the speculated row between former Governor Seriake Dickson and Governor Diri was a figment of the imagination of some mischief-makers and sycophants in the party.
He said the decision by some members of the PDP in the state to defect to other political parties was driven by their personal motives, interests and aspirations and had nothing to do with alleged bickering between the two political leaders in Bayelsa.
Arerebo carpeted those casting aspersions on the personality and administrative capacity of Governor Diri, saying that Diri had proved to the people of the state through his giant strides in infrastructure and human capacity development that he meant well for Bayelsa.
He also dismissed insinuations by some politicians of the PDP stock that Diri was not leading the party well, saying that it was a lie from the pit of hell.
He, however, urged the aggrieved stalwarts that had abandoned the party to return and work for the unity and success of the PDP in the coming general elections in 2023.
Arerebo stated: “Governor Douye Diri and former Governor Seriake Dickson are in good terms. There is no feud between both political leaders in the state.
“It is just that some persons, who lost during the last primaries of the PDP in the state, have been saying all sorts of things to give credence to wicked insinuations that there is a feud between Dickson and Diri.
“We of the FSDD are friends of both Diri and Dickson and we can tell you that there is no feud between the duo. Even though Diri is older than Dickson, the governor gives him maximum respect and regard to Dickson as his political boss.
“We are appealing to all those that have left the party for one flimsy reason or the other to come back and unite with Diri and the PDP to succeed in the forthcoming general polls. Bayelsa State belongs to all of us and we must behave as true Ijaw compatriots when there is need to say the truth.
“The defection of some party stalwarts to other parties, especially the Social Democratic Party (SDP) makes people feel somehow but the truth is that since the inception of Bayelsa, there is no governor that has done what Diri has done and is still doing.
“I want to appeal to all those who have left for other parties to come back. Diri is a servant of Bayelsa State and the Ijaw people that God has sent to unite the entire Ijaw people. People of other parties are friends with the Governor because they are seeing what he is doing in Bayelsa.
“The Governor called us to support him to harmonise certain things and we were able to broker peace in certain constituencies and districts in the state. Today, Fred Agbedi is going back to the House of Representatives and Senator Dickson is going back to the Senate.
That is what we have agreed and the Governor also agreed to that.”
Arerebo expressed optimism that PDP would triumph in the general elections in all elective positions in the state, saying that the party still had overwhelming support in Bayelsa.
