Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress have embarked on community-to-community endorsement of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Bayelsa West Senatorial District, former Governor Seriake Dickson.
According to a statement, the development has reportedly worsened the crisis within the APC and the campaign of its candidate, Chief Peremobowei Ebebi.
Some APC stakeholders in Ekeremor and Sagbama local government areas, who converged on Isampou on Friday, were said to have concluded that efforts must be made to prevent the political ambition of any politician from damaging the existing cordial relationship between Ekeremor and Sagbama.
The stakeholders and some community leaders of the Isampou, Aleibiri, Amanaigbene, Peretorugbebe communities and others were “unanimous in their position that they would not support any political party or candidate that would scuttle the existing agreement on power sharing between Sagbama and Ekeremor LGAs, which make up the senatorial district.”
The Chairman, APC Grassroots Mobilisation, Sagbama/Ekeremor, Mr Ebide Brown, who led the stakeholders, said addressed the party leaders, saying they had to wrest the people of the area out of “needless bitterness and division.”
According to him, any arrangement that promotes an Ekeremor candidacy for the Senate while the position of the House of Representatives is occupied by an Ekeremor son is both indefensible and unacceptable.
Brown insisted that the two positions of senator and member of the House of Representatives are shared between Ekeremor and Sagbama and the two had not gone to any single council since the commencement of democratic governance in 1999.
The APC chieftain was quoted as saying Dickson’s performance as governor was also a “major reason” the people had resolved to back him for the Senatorial job.
He said, “The Sagbama/ Ekeremor people are grateful to the former governor for the construction of the Sagbama/Ekeremor Road, a university, a polytechnic, general hospitals and several projects in the Sagbama/Ekeremor Senatorial District.”
wn added that there was no better person to go to the Senate than Dickson, who he said had the courage, experience and network to speak for the district, state and Ijaw nation.
Stakeholders at the meeting included Financial Secretary, APC Grassroots Mobilisation, Sagbama/Ekeremor, Peres Adakuru; leader, Amanaigbene community, Stanley Beralade; Coordinator, Foutorugbene community, Tabu Pudiya; and Coordinator, Aleibiri community, Kesta Femone Kesta.
Others were Co-coordinator, Aleibiri community, Werepere Okorie; and spokesperson APC Grassroots Mobilisation, Sagbama/Ekeremor, Hitler Moses.
Punch