How APC set to govern Bayelsa on February 14

                                                              By Our Correspondent

   The All Progressives Congress (APC) has laid solid foundation to take over the governance of Bayelsa state on February 14, 2020.

 Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, APC National Chairman

  It is unlike the 2015 election where the party does not attach important to the governorship election in the state.                                             

  This time around  the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC), has unleashed no fewer than 16 serving state governors as members of the party’s National Campaign Council to plot the fall of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Kogi and Bayelsa states governorship elections.

  It would be recalled that elections in the state mostly were rigged and vote buying and even the electoral body and its Adhoc staff were not sincere in conducting free, fair and credible election in the state since the returned to democratic rule in 1999 to date because of the important the electoral umpire allegedly attach to using the periods as a means of amassing embarrassing wealth.  

   This time around the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the majority of the electorates in the state have concluded to  change the leadership of the state from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) sequel to the emergence of the APC gubernatorial candidate, Chief David Lyon and his running mate, Senator (Bishop) Biobarakuma W Degi-Eremienyo whom they described as God’s Divine and fearing leaders and saviour to administer purposeful and exceptional visionary leadership that will salvage the people of the state from the shackle of poverty, misery and underdevelopment to provide means of livelihood for the people.

           Chief David Lyon                     Senator B. W. Degi-Eremienyo

   The victory of the party in the November 16 governorship election is manifesting daily as political chieftains and political scientists in the PDP are tremendously decamping from PDP to

Inaugurating the council at the national headquarters of the ruling party, the National Chairman,   Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, announced that the governors of Kaduna and Jigawa states, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and Mohammed Abubakar Badaru,will serve as chairmen  for Kogi and   Bayelsa states respectively. Speaking during the event, Oshiomhole warned that though the poll is not war, the party is however ready for the antics of the PDP. To handle the Bayelsa election, the APC appointed  Badaru of Jigawa as chairman, Simon Lalong, Plateau, Dullahi Umar Ganduje, Kano, Aminu Bello Masari, Katsina, Babagana Umara, Borno, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos, Dapo Abiodun, Ogun  Adegboyega Oyetola, Osun and Godwin Obaseki, Edo states as committee members.

   For Kogi poll, the ruling party appointed El-Rufai, as chairman, Abdullahi Sule, Nasarawa, Abubakar Sani Bello, Niger, Abdullahi Abdulrasaq, Kwara, Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti, Mal Mala Buni, Yobe and  Inuwa Yahaya, Gombe states as members.

   Addressing them, Oshiomhole said: “We rushed to inaugurate this committee because of the flagoff of Bayelsa governorship election on Monday. We are ready for contestation and this time, the vote must count. This time, the PDP must learn how to conduct election.

“In Kogi state, Governor Yahaya Bello went through the learning curve and he will consolidate on his achievements. In Bayelsa, the name lion is already driving fears into Bayelsa PDP. The reaction of PDP and my good friend, Seriake Dickson, show that they are troubled. We take the two elections serious because we believe in election,” Oshiomhole said.

  “The heart of the people will be turned to elect a man that will make a difference, that will demonstrate that in a genuine democracy, very ordinary people who connect with their people, who understand and live with their people and share the joy, pain and aspirations of their people, even if they don’t have the history of a political dynasty can rise to become a governor and I believe that is the story of our candidates

  “The reaction of PDP shows they are in trouble. My very good friend Dickson is in trouble. We take this two elections very seriously, because we believe in the power of the ballot, we believe that the issues should be contested in a peaceful environment and not by the power of gunshots which has been the tradition of the opposition and we know that people want a change.

   “Let me use this opportunity to assure the opposition that we are ready for campaigns, it is not a fight, it is not a war. The only thing we will insist on is that the votes must count because Bayelsa is not used to votes being counted. They have to be encouraged to understand that the votes will not only be casted in a free and fair atmosphere, it must not be through the power of the barrel of the Gun. The PDP must know that and learn new tactics in winning votes and not fight wars,” he said.

    Responding, Kano state governor, Dr. Umar Ganduje, who stood in for Jigawa state governor, said “it is a matter of democracy that all votes must count in the coming election in Bayelsa state.”

   For Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-rufai, he assured that his team will not let the party down, adding that APC will win the election in Kogi with “a wide margin.”

    He noted that Kogi is different from Bayelsa saying his party will prosecute the election based on its records in the state.

   Recently, the governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Bayelsa State, Chief David Lyon, has promised to end the hardship in the state caused by the misrule of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

   He stated this in Yenagoa during the inauguration of the APC 2019 Governorship Campaign Council, which has the Petroleum Minister, Chief Timipre Sylva as the Director-General.

   The Secretary, Media and Publicity Committee, Doifie Buokoribo, in a statement quoted that David Lyon promised to change Bayelsa State for the good of all.

   He said: “To defeat the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is a task that must be done. Everyone has seen the hardship in the state. We are in total darkness. We cannot continue to remain a civil service state. Together, we will change the narrative”.

   Inaugurating the council, the state chairman of the party, Jothan Amos, said the APC had the best chance to win the November 16 governorship election in the state.

   The statement named Professor Seiyefa Brisibe as the Alternate Director-General while Eddy Orubo, Christopher Enai, Chief Sonme Ogilogi and Festus Daumiebi were inaugurated as the deputy director-generals.

   While a former Acting Governor, Chief Nestor Binabo and a former Deputy Governor Peremobowei Ebebi emerged the advisers to the campaign council, the State Secretary of APC, Alabo Martins, was named the Campaign Secretary.

  Alternate Director-General, Prof Brisibe, said the APC represented the hope and yearnings of the people of the state and expressed confidence of victory.

  “We are going to Government House, Yenagoa. We will banish hunger. We will banish poverty. We will banish insecurity. We will banish darkness. We will banish dictatorship”, he said.

Ebebi, who recently defected to the APC from the PDP also thanked the leadership of APC in the state for appointing him as Adviser to the Campaign Council.

   He promised to put in his best in ensuring that APC emerged victorious in the governorship election on November 16.

   Also, a popular politician from Bayelsa East, Dr. George Allen Fente, congratulated all those appointed into the various committees, advising that the coming election presented an opportunity to “choke” the PDP.

   In her speech, an Elder stateswoman, Lady Anne Yougha, who spoke on behalf of Bayelsa Central zone said the people of the state were tired of living in darkness.

   She said the APC ticket of Chief David Lyon and Senator Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo represented light.

  “The time has come for change, to move Bayelsa State to the next level. The Ijaw people have always played politics with political forces at the centre. If we join hands with the centre our fortunes and material conditions will change for the better. We will not remain beggars”.

   Already, the Founding Fathers Forum of Bayelsa state in  a “historic” meeting with the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the November 16 governorship election, Chief David Lyon has , handed over three documents containing the roadmap for the development of the state, names of living and their dead colleagues at the meeting in Yenagoa at the instance of Lyon.

Brambaifa, while handing over the documents, described the meeting as historic saying it was the first time a candidate of a political party for an election would request to see those that fought for the creation of Bayelsa.

   Brambaifa said the fathers blessed Lyon and asked him to go and win the election adding that the candidate had shown that he had the interest of all stakeholders especially the grassroots at heart.

   Addressing Lyon, he said: “We are giving you the memorandum that was sent for the creation of Bayelsa State, the Kolokuma-Opokuma development blueprints that will help you in your administration and a book that one of the founding fathers exhaustively x-rayed the problems of Bayelsa State since its inception. We want to proudly present this to you while we wish you all the best”.

   Receiving the documents, Lyon said when elected as a governor, he would follow the recommendations and blueprints to the letter.

   The candidate said he would not disappoint the founding fathers, who sacrificed their time, energy and resources to ensure the creation of the only Ijaw homogeneous state.

Lyon said he believed in the unity of Bayelsa and vowed to ensure unity in the state when elected as governor.

   Some of the founding fathers at the meeting were Chief Martins Agbede, Senator Brambaifa, and its Secretary Chief Joe Garb, among others.

 Also, the Epie/Atissa Clans the Landlords of the Bayelsa state capital have thrown the weight behind the governorship candidate of APC, David lyon and his running mate, Senator Degi-Eremienyo.

That day in a Unity rally,Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital is in agog as mammoth crowd of Epie/Atissa people troops to the streets of Yenagoa in a solidarity/unity rally in support of David Lyon and Sen B W Degi-Eremienyu ticket for the Nov 16 guber poll.

Epie/Atissa people in solidarity rally for APC.

Leaders, Youths, women, party supporters and the various support groups, among others were also seen colourfully dressed with APC attires spreading the David/Degi good news on the streets

The atmosphere was charged with excitement as thousands of people holding brooms sang and chanted APC slogans.

A casket on top of a keke with inscription "RIP PDP" was also seen as it signals the final burial of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

With this mammoth crowd seen, it shows that Yenagoa LGA is been taken over by the All Progressive Congress (APC).