Jonathan's endorsement not plus for Dickson - PDP stakeholder

By Jesse Ese

Bayelsa PDP stakeholder and member of the PDP Unity Group, Barr. Fitzgerald Biuks Olorogun, has said the recent endorsement of the state governor, Henry Seriake Dickson, by former President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, will not add any advantage to him in the forthcoming governorship elections in the state.

He stated this while chatting with newsmen in his office in Yenagoa recently.

He explained that they had expected the People's Democratic Party to provide a leveled playing field for all aspirants and not to disqualify them as was done.

He stated that the disqualification of Senator Emmanuel Paulker and Ebikitin Diongoli was a deliberate act by the PDP to pull them from the governorship race in December.

He also lamented that the party has not told them why they were disqualified.

"I don't want to say anything for now because the party has not told us why they were disqualified. This is not the first time the party has disqualified aspirants without giving any reason. In 2011, Timipre Sylva was disqualified without any reason," he said.

He also added that "they told Sylva that he knows the reasons; that he should tell Nigerians why he was disqualified. All that was said to him was that he has been disqualified. It is in the tradition of the PDP. Dickson has already become the candidate of the party, except a court order reverses it."

Barr. Olorogun, however, explained that he is not against Governor Dickson's second tenure bid; adding that they are only striving to ensure the party does the right thing.

He said there is no sanity in the PDP now; that even the state chairman and vice chairman were imposed on them.

"We want the candidate of the party to emerge by due process. There was no proper process. All the rules were tuned to the favour of Dickson. Normally, if there are twenty aspirants, you allow a leveled playing ground and whoever emerges as the candidate will be supported by all," he stated.

He said the PDP waited to find out if Dickson was contesting or not before they started the sale of forms.

He explained that, though many members of the party defected to the APC because they had governorship ambitions, he stressed that they wouldn't have left if there was sanity in the party; adding that the PDP suffered mass defection of its members because they had already given the impression that they had already anointed Dickson since the beginning.

"Nineteen of those who defected to the APC had governorship ambitions, but they did so because the PDP at the national level gave the impression that they have anointed a particular candidate. They went and bought forms and they were all cleared. There was no discrimination," he said.

He, however, called on Bayelsans to be very careful during the elections and vote for the candidate whom they believe will bring good governance. He said they should not vote based on political parties but the candidates; adding that he, as a member of the PDP, will vote for his party.