How Dickson Ended PDP’s Reign In Bayelsa

The reign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State will come to an end in February, 2020 following the declaration of David Lyon of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the governorship election in the state.

Lyon defeated Diri Douye of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the November 16 polls.

INEC’s Returning Officer, Prof. Faraday Orumwense, Vice Chancellor, University of Benin, who announced the result, said APC polled 352,552 votes to win in the election.

He said APC’s closest rival, Duoye Diri polled 143, 172 votes.

The returning officer said that the total vote cast in the election was 505,884 votes, total valid votes 499,551, while the total rejected votes stood at 6,333.

This is the first time PDP will lose a governorship contest in Bayelsa as it has governed the state since the return of democracy to the country in 1999.

Bayelsa is the home state to former President Goodluck Jonathan, the undisputed leader of the PDP in the country.

Before the guber poll, there were reports that the former president and the state governor, Seriake Dickson were not in good terms. The reports of the rift between the two may not be unconnected to the fact of the alleged manipulation of the PDP governorship primary election which went against Timi Alaibe, said to be the candidate of Jonathan.

Dickson’s candidate, Douye won the primary, which reportedly made the ex-president to withdraw his support and endorsement for him despite being under the same party. Jonathan was also believed to have thrown his weight behind the APC candidate, Lyon.

The fact of Jonathan’s support for Lyon became manifest last week during the flag off of the governorship campaign in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital last week when the leadership of the APC openly expressed gratitude to the ex-president.

Douye was also reported to be an unpopular candidate, unlike Alaibe, who has severally contested the office of governor in the state, to no avail.

The former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Timi Frank, on September 7 predicted that the PDP would lose the November 16 governorship election in Bayelsa State for “choosing to field a weak candidate”.

Frank, who disclosed this to newsmen in Abuja said the candidate of the APC for the election, Lyon, would win.

He said, “The APC will win the governorship election in Bayelsa State seeing the weak candidate who Governor Seriake Dickson and the PDP have chosen.

“It is not my wish for the APC to win the election as I am not a member of the party. I’m not also a supporter of the party. But from the look of things, the choice made by Dickson and the PDP is not inspiring.

“I want to remind those surprised that this was the same position I took against my former party, the APC, in 2015 when former governor and now the Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, was nominated. He lost the election.

“History is about to repeat itself, albeit in the PDP because it is making the same mistake that the APC made in 2015. Therefore, the handpicked PDP’s candidate will lose the election.”

Frank’s remarks appeared to have been prophetic as it came to pass on November 18 when the APC candidate, Lyon trounced Governor Dickson’s candidate to emerge the governor elect of Bayelsa.

Ex-president Jonathan also appears to have the last laugh, a day after the election when APC governors paid him a thank you visit in his home town of Otuoke.