One of the governorship aspirants for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket for the governorship election in Bayelsa State, Timi Alaibe, has drawn battle line with Governor Seriake Dickson who is sponsoring another aspirant for the PDP ticket.
Timi Alaibe, a former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has been attacking Governor Dickson, accusing him of plotting to obstruct transparent primary election of the PDP to nominate the party’s candidate. He is accusing the governor of plotting to impose a candidate on PDP members in Bayelsa State.
However, Governor Dickson has fried back at Alaigbe, accusing him of blackmail to force him into cowardice.
National Dailylearned that Governor Dickson is not pleased with Timi Alaibe who had defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) where he also contested the party primary election in the last governorship election and failed.
National Dailylearned that Governor Dickson blasted Timi Alaibe, a former Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta Matters, that he is blackmailing him to attract attention to have political advantage in the race for the PDP ticket.
The Bayelsa Governor was said to have accused Alaibe of circulating a cynically manipulated version of addresses he (the governor) delivered during political meetings and at other fora with the intent to smear him for assumed political benefits.
National Dailyfurther gathered that Governor Dickson in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media Relations, Fidelis Soriwei, decried that Alaibe was resorting to blackmail out of desperation to win the PDP governorship primary election by all means.
Governor Dickson raised alarm that Nigerians and PDP leaders should expect more of such blackmail as the buildup for the party’s primary election scheduled for September 3, 2019 garners momentum.
Dickson admonished Timi Alaibe to concentrate his campaign on the Bayelsa people, particularly, party delegates that will vote the aspirants to nominate the PDP governorship candidate.
The governor remarked that 21 aspirants are in the race for the PDP governorship ticket, noting that only one candidate will emerge.
The governor was cited to have had declared in the statement: “It has come to the attention of the government that the former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Chief Timi Alaibe, has been spreading manipulated audio recordings of Governor Dickson’s public utterances during meetings.
“It is curious that Alaibe would rather dissipate energy to the propagation of mischief rather than focusing attention on his gubernatorial campaigns.”
“We wish to reiterate for the umpteenth time that the governor as a major stakeholder in the issue of the governorship primary is entitled to his own political views and decisions. That does not preclude any politician with genuine interest from testing his popularity with the delegates.
“It is important to stress also that the governor’s decision not to reward disloyalty with the candidature of the party is an informed decision of conviction.
“Alaibe would do well to focus on the campaigns to actualize his aspiration rather than the spreading of a campaign of calumny against a man whose name is not on the ballot.
“Nigerians and leaders of the PDP should expect more of this blackmail as we move closer to the primaries.”