As the 2015 governorship election in Bayelsa state draws closer, the race for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket is taking an interesting twist, as the immediate past president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan may have endorsed Senator Emmanuel Paulker instead of the incumbent governor, Seriake Dickson.
But the commissioner for information, Mr Esueme Dan Kikile, in response to our text message on the issue only said it was a mere speculation.
The PDP spokesman, Macbere Osom would not take his calls, neither would he respond to our text message.
PUO REPORTS learnt that at a meeting involving the Board of Trustee chairman of the PDP, Paulker and some stakeholders of the party, at Jonathan’s Maitama residence in Abuja, Jonathan was said to have expressed fears that the party would lose the election in the state if Dickson got the party’s’ ticket.
According to a source in the PDP, Jonathan had also blamed the chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus for not acting fast to resolve the crisis currently rocking the party, and that the only option if the party must win the election in the state was to deny the incumbent the party’s ticket.
One of the major issues yet to be resolved in the party is that of the chairmanship. While the PDP national working committee in Abuja recognises Sam Inokoba as its chairman in Bayelsa, back home in Bayelsa, the state working committee recognises the leadership of Chief Serena Dokubo-Spiff.
Some stakeholders in the PDP in Bayelsa are however of the opinion that Dokubo-Spiff, as a traditional ruler could not occupy the office of chairman of the PDP. Last month, a bosom friend of Jonathan and elder in Bayelsa, Senator Nimi Barigha Amange, said that he could not recognise Spiff as the PDP chairman.
He had also said in an interview he granted PUO REPORTS that he was looking forward to Jonathan resolving the leadership crisis in the party, failure of which would determine whether he would remain in the PDP.
Our source further stated that Jonathan was angry with the party’s chairman because he had expected if the immediate past chairman Adamu Muazu couldn’t wade into the crisis rocking the party in his state because of his election, Secondus should have acted fast to resolve the crisis.
It was learnt that Jonathan complained that Dickson was embarrassing him and that because of his arrogance many founding members of the PDP had dumped the party for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
It was gathered that at that point, Paulker told Jonathan that he had plans to join the race for the number one seat in the state. It was said that Jonathan, without hesitation gave Paulker the directive to go ahead.
With the blessing of Jonathan, Paulker was reported to have travelled back to Yenagoa, where he met with the King, HRH. Malla Sasime and chiefs of Epie Kingdom to declare his intention to join the forthcoming governorship race in the state.
Jonathan’s position may not be unconnected with the governor’s refusal in completing some of the projects he left uncompleted as governor, including the tower hotel which Dickson said he could not complete so that Bayelsa people would not use it for short-time, hang-out with prostitutes.
