Former governor and Senator representing Bayelsa West, Seriake Dickson, says he is confident that incumbent Governor Douye Diri will win the November 11 governorship election smoothly.
He said the coast was clear for Diri and his deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, and they were sailing to reelection for a second term on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Dickson, who had not participated in the governor’s second tenure campaigns since it started three weeks ago, spoke on Wednesday in his Toru-Orua country home in the Sagbama Local Government Area when he hosted Diri and his campaign team.
A statement issued by the Chief Press to the Governor, Mr Daniel Alabrah, on Thursday, said the senator threw his weight behind his successor and expressed conviction that the second tenure of the governor and his running mate would be successful.
He applauded Diri and his campaign team for relentlessly mobilising support and strengthening the political base of the PDP, stating that there was no opposition in the state to contend with him in the election.
Dickson said, “I congratulate the Director-General of the Diri governorship campaign and his team for doing a good job by galvanising the base of our party.
“I can see that the coast is clear. From the eyes of an experienced hunter, l can see that your current hunt will be very successful.”
The former governor, who said Diri’s visit was a demonstration of the fact that he had not forgotten where he started his political journey, however, explained that his absence from the governorship campaigns was deliberate.
“When l endorsed Senator Diri in 2019, all hell broke loose. But today, l am very happy that the Diri they said l imposed on them has become a good product for Bayelsa.
“The visit of the governor and his entourage demonstrates that a man who starts hunting in the thick forest, started from somewhere and this visit shows that he had not forgotten the road from where he got into that thick forest”, Dickson said.
He called on political parties, their candidates, and supporters not to breach the prevailing peace in the state because, after the election, they would remain as one people.
In his remarks, Diri appreciated Dickson for his support over the years and dispelled any rumours of a rift between them.
He said his administration had continued to expand the PDP family, which, according to him, had gone beyond a political contest because it had brought back most members that left the party.
Diri said, “For the benefit of anybody who is in doubt about the relationship between me and Senator Dickson, l want to make it clear that there is no rift between us. I am sure beyond reasonable doubt that he is with me.
“What we are doing is to continue to expand our family. All those who were in our family that left, we have brought them back and they are all moving with us. So this has become a movement. It has gone beyond a political contest. Anywhere we go, it is this organic support that we receive.”
The governor also thanked the King (Pere) of the Tarakiri clan and the people of the Bayelsa West senatorial district, adding that he was sure of victory in the zone on November 11.
At the event, a minute silence was observed in honour of the late Ekeremor PDP Caucus chairman, Chief Thompson Okorotie.
Diri, his deputy, and Dickson had earlier received royal blessings from the Pere of Tarakiri, King Seiyifa Koroye, at his palace in Toru-Orua, where chiefs from Sagbama and Ekeremor local government areas gathered.
The trio also had a ride in a war boat (Omuaro) to the delight of attendees.
Dignitaries at the event included the wife of the former governor, Dr. Rachel Dickson, national assembly members, party chieftains, All Progressives Congress member that represented the Brass/Nembe Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Israel Sunny-Goli, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Abraham Ingobere, deputy speaker, Michael Ogbere, other state lawmakers, commissioners and top government functionaries.
