From, UCHENNA NWAFOR,
Yenagoa
Tension seems to be brewing in Bayelsa
following the PDP congress as a faction of the party in a manner
that could be termed as a coup’d tat sacked the executive of the
party led by Mr. Fred Agbedi.
Opinion moulders in the state and the king pins in the PDP led
state, including Vice President Goodluck Jonathan and Timi Alaibe,
the Managing Director of Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC)
as well as Governor Sylva had penultimate week in a caucus meeting
in Yenagoa resolved the initial crisis which could have rocked the
state and maintained that the status quo in the state party
executive be maintained.
The action of a faction of the party, believed to be loyal to the
state Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, may be throwing the party into
another round of intra-party crisis as the decision of the party
caucus to retain the status quo before the crisis that rocked the
party and the state House of Assembly last time was jettisoned.
The crisis led to the suspension and counter suspension of members
of the state House of Assembly and the alleged impeachment of the
Speaker of the Assembly, Honourable Werinipre Seibarugu, by a
faction of the House.
The party caucus apart from resolving that the status quo should be
maintained also instituted a four man peace committee made up of
Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, Governor Timipre Sylva, the NDDC
Managing Director, Mr. Timi Alaibe as well as the former chairman of
the Directorate of Food, Roads Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI), Air
Vice Marshal Larry Koinya (rtd) to look into the crisis with a view
to finding a lasting solution to it.
Besides the deputy chairman, Chief Darius Obiene, who attended the
congress, the state party chairman, Hon Fred Agbedi and others were
conspicuously absent at the congress.
Those that attended included the Special Adviser on Youth and
Mobilization, Hon Waripamowei Dudafa, the Chief of Staff to the
Governor, Mr. SamuelUgboku,the Deputy Protocol Officer to the
Governor, Lucky Yebowei,the State Finance Commissioner, Mr. Sylva
Charles-Opula.
At the end of the congress, Chief Rufus Abadi from Southern Ijaw
Local Government area, Bayelsa Central Senatorial district, emerged
as the new state Chairman of the party while Mr. James Akari was
elected as the State Secretary of the party.
Chief Abadi, popularly called Babaru, is handling one of the biggest
road projects in the capital city and he is said to be a close
associate of the governor. This made political observers in the
state to believe that the new arrangement was masterminded by the
state Governor even though he is in far away China on an official
trip.
But in a swift reaction, the state PDP led by the Chairman, Chief
Alfred Agbedi described the congress as illegal, citing the position
of the party caucus where it was unanimously agreed that the present
executives from the ward to state levels should continue in office
for another two years.
The Secretary of the party, Dr. Tarilah Tebepah who spoke to newsmen
in Yenagoa recalled how the party caucus meeting which was attended
by the Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, Governor Timipre
Sylva, members of the Board of Trustees resolved that the tenure of
the present executives be extended by two years.
“The party at the appropriate time will meet to decide the fate of
those involved in the illegal congress,” he said, stressing that
they were able to hold the congress due to the absence of the
governor.
Also speaking, the party youth leader in the state, Barrister Dan
Kikile-Esueme described the congress as completely illegal, saying
it was against the position of the party caucus that the status quo
be maintained, just as he appealed to Bayelsans, especially PDP
members to work towards the development of the state.
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