Dickson remains best candidate for Bayelsa – Jonathan tells kinsmen

NEDU MARK, Yenagoa

Former President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has described the Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, as the best candidate in Bayelsa to contest and win the forthcoming governorship elections in the state.

Jonathan who was accompanied by his wife, Dame Patience, Governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko, Governor of Rivers State, Barr Nyesom Wike and other Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains in the South/South geopolitical zone stated that the leadership of the PDP ‘is totally committed to delivering Dickson come December 5.’

The former president said this in Yenagoa, the state capital, on the occasion of the much-anticipated official declaration by Governor Dickson to contest for a second term in office.

“I believe that supporting Dickson is the best thing now.  He will not betray Bayelsans and our children as he had performed creditably well in the past three and half years as governor,” the former president said.

Jonathan, who spoke in Pidgin English at the rally, said Governor Dickson has performed well in the areas of security of lives and property, paying workers’ salaries and also in the areas of infrastructural development and building bridges of peace and reconciliation.

Jonathan, who decried what he described as ‘Ijaw killing themselves and spoiling their own,’ further appealed to Bayelsans to allow Dickson to continue as governor for a second term as he is ‘a truly tested and God-fearing person.’

“We are begging everybody to come together to build our state and not to destroy the state,” he said.

Jonathan, who praised Dickson for not causing the state to be indebted to the World Bank and other financial bodies in the country, equally lauded Dickson for constructing the first fly-over bridge in the state and embarking on the construction of bridges linking riverine communities in the state and connecting communities through a network of roads.

On his part, Governor Dickson said the All Progressives Congress (APC) is not on ground in Bayelsa state and cannot win any election, reaffirming that ‘Bayelsa is totally a PDP state since 1999 till date and no other political party is on ground to wrest out power from PDP.’

“The opposition party do not have any message for any Bayelsan as the party does not have any councillor, local government chairman or state Assembly members, even at the National Assembly, none of them”.

“We the Bayelsa people, we the Ijaw people, we will stand firmly by the PDP. Bayelsa state is unshakable. PDP is the major territory in the state as the party will wind them up come December 5, 2015 at the poll,“ said Dickson.

Accompanied by his wife, Rachael Dickson, the governor noted that if voted into office for the second term, he would consolidate on security of lives and property, develop the state and empower youths through education.

The official declaration by Dickson to contest as governor was colourful as party loyalists, groups, women, youths and traditional rulers turned up in their numbers, drumming support for the ‘Countryman Governor,’ as Dickson is popularly referred to in the state.