By Samuel Oyadongha,  Yenagoa
Though the battle for the Creek  Haven, the seat of power in Bayelsa State is open for all the registered political parties in the state but the event of the last few weeks has forced political analysts in the only homogenous Ijaw speaking state to narrow the contest to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) given its commanding presence and followership in the state.

Bayelsa State which pride itself as the ‘oasis of peace’ in the Niger Delta given its relative low crime rate may lose its tranquility in the days ahead as the PDP primaries slated for November 19 draws near.

For some analysts, this is certainly not the best of times for this naturally endowed state which political turf is characterized by high level intrigues, deep seated animosity, violence and betrayal.

Governor Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State

Ironically, the forces against the incumbent governor who are determined to stop him from clinching the party ticket are not from the opposition parties but from within his own PDP. Alignment and realignment are still taking place in furtherance of their goal to oust Sylva from office.

Arrayed against Governor Sylva is a formidable opposition in which he must bring into play his political dexterity to surmount the avalanche of dissenting voices within his own party.

Interestingly, the anti Sylva forces are strong associates of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Green Movement when he was governor of Bayelsa State and the New Vision campaign machinery of Timi Alaibe.

Members of both outfit, which worked closely to ensure the success of the incumbent governor at the poll, have alleged stagnation in the socio-economic and infra structural development of the state.

The ‘Green Movement’ was the political structure and engine room of the campaign outfit of Dr. Jonathan that helped swing the pendulum in favour his favour when he was governor of the state in the build up to the governorship election in the state in 2007.

Dr. Jonathan not only won the party ticket but went on to clinch the governorship poll in the state before his surprised elevation as the PDP, Vice Presidential candidate thereby paving the way for the then relatively unsung Timipre Sylva who came a distant second to snatch the party ticket at the state level and went on to win the governorship election to emerge as the third elected civilian governor of the state.

Although Alaibe, a strong contender for the party ticket then it was learnt was prevailed upon by the PDP top hierarchy to withdraw his ambition so as not to further heat up the already volatile political turf of the state, his supporters and that of the Green Movement later worked for the success of the ‘Covenant 2007’ campaign outfit of Sylva at the poll.

However the latest political manoeuvering from the Abuja front and the alleged tacit of Mr. President to oust the incumbent from Creek Haven, is no doubt causing anxiety among the supporters of the governor in the state.

Saturday Vanguard reliably gathered that the President’s loyalists, based in Abuja, have perfected plans to neutralize Governor Sylva’s plan to retain the party ticket by a set of strategies, which include lining up a number of alternative candidates believed to be friendly to both President Jonathan and his wife, Patience.

Part of their strategies it was learnt was getting the Inspector General of Police to proscribe the dreaded Famou Tangbe security outfit which according to them was set up to intimidate perceived opponents of the state governor as well as the removal of the state commissioner of police.

The recent removal of Darius Obiene, a supporter and kinsman of Governor Sylva as chairman of the PDP in the state, sources told Saturday Vanguard was part of the machinery set in motion to whittle down the influence of the governor ahead of the party primaries.

It was also learnt that the recent return of the party chieftains including Timi Alaibe who left in the wake of the April 2011 general election was part of the move to form a formidable alliance to oust the governor.

But whether Alaibe will be given the waiver by the national leadership of the party to contest the party primaries for the November primaries is left to be seen given the protest being put up by Governor Sylva loyalists.

While supporters of the former Adviser to the President on Niger Delta are confident that he would be given a waiver to contest the primaries citing the precedent set by the party in the case of the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar those opposed to his being granted a waiver from the governor’s camp are insisting that he had not stayed up to six months in PDP and as such should not be given waiver to enable him contest.

The Green Movement chieftains had in the past accused Governor Sylva of sidelining them in the affairs of the state having worked to return him at the poll and aiming to trump past incidents of alleged differences between the President and the Governor as weapon to convince the President to side with them.

It was learnt that the inability of feuding parties to read the body language of Mr. President as to which direction the pendulum would swing has further heightened anxiety among the political class in the state.

While those close to the governor have argued that the relationship between Gov Sylva and President Jonathan is cordial noting that Governor Sylva was among the leading supporters and backers of President Jonathan during the last PDP presidential, his detractors have accused him of sundry allegation ranging from lack of respect for the President and non performance.

At the time of filing this report, five aspirants who vowed to dislodge the incumbent from the Creek Haven had submitted their nomination forms and were expected to appear for screening at the party zonal secretariat in Port Harcourt.

They include the former presidential aide, Timi Alaibe, Seriake Dickson, a confidant of Mr. President and staunch member of the ‘Green Movement’ as well as the arrow head of the Restoration Group, entertainment mogul, Ben Bruce, former Yenagoa council boss, Bolobou Orufa and Christopher Enai, a former member of the House of Representatives.

X raying the chances of the aspirants for the 2012 poll

Governor Timipre Sylva will no doubt be a hard nut to crack if the power of incumbency is anything to go by. It is on record that no incumbent governor in the South South has lost his reelection bid. But those opposed to the governor have vowed to make Bayelsa a case study.

Sylva may have to rely on that luck which threw him up in 2007 PDP primaries when he was not given the chance to overcome the odds against him if indeed Mr. President has turned his back against him as being rumoured.

The governor won the party ticket on a platter of gold in 2007 following the elevation of Jonathan as Vice Presidential candidate of the PDP, after clinching the Bayelsa State ticket to fly the party flag at the guber poll.

The Okpoama born politician from the Bayelsa East senatorial district has since grown into a formidable force in the politics of the state who allegedly orchestrated the impeachment of his erstwhile deputy, Peremobowei Ebebi said to be nursing governorship ambition by the state House of Assembly.

He is seen as the proverbial cat with nine lives given the way he has held on, in spite of his many brushes with the Abuja politicians now trumping their closeness to the President.

Sylva on assumption of office embarked on a flurry of road constructions in the capital city with the result that many areas which were initially not accessible were opened up before the problem of youth militancy took the centre stage in the state waterways which was turned into a battle turf by self styled freedom fighters agitating for equity and justice from the Nigerian state, a development which though had improved with the return of peace is yet to translate in the tangible development for the state.

While kudos should be given to the administration for successfully tackling insecurity in the state during at the height of militancy and kidnappings its opponents have accused it of fueling cult related activities as well as failing to address the widespread poverty in the land.

According to an analyst, “though the governor has his flaws, he has done remarkably in the last four years by linking up areas which hitherto were inaccessible with roads and as such deserved a second term ticket to consolidate on the gains of the last four years.”

Members of the state House of Assembly led by its Speaker Rt. Hon Nestor Binabo have also expressed support for the governor, insisting that they are behind his second term ambition. Also, the council chairmen under the auspices of ALGON last week rolled out the drum in support of the governor.

Timi Alaibe

The Opokuma born politician is the most feared by the Governor Sylva camp. The decision of the erstwhile Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to return to the PDP fold and contest the 2012 governorship race, according to analysts, is capable of altering the political equation and power balance in the predominantly riverine state. He is a great grassroots mobiliser with tremendous goodwill among the youths.

Alaibe..

However, his undoing might be his leaving the PDP to pitch tent with the Labour Party in the build up to the April poll to actualise his ambition on realizing that the primaries was skewed in favour of the incumbent governor. The governorship election was eventually put off due to the High Court and Court of Appeal verdict that governorship election will not hold in the state until 2012.

His request to be granted waiver by the leadership of the PDP is being contested by the governor’s camp which is wary of his popularity within and outside the state.

But an undaunted Alaibe had expressed optimism that he would be granted waiver adding that he would emerged victorious at the party primaries and go ahead to clinch the poll promising to launch the state on the fast lane of development if elected to lead to lead the state.

Seriake Dickson

He represents Bayelsa West Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives and is the arrow head of those opposed to the second tenure bid of governor. It was reliably learnt that Dickson was chosen to lead the ‘Sylva must go project’ because of his doggedness in pursuing a course he believes in.

The anti Sylva group, known as the Restoration Group, penultimate week in Abuja formally presented Seriake Dickson, as the candidate, in their words, to restore the glory of the state which they claimed had sunk under Sylva’s stewardship.

Seriake Dickson

Dickson, who is serving his second term in the House of Representatives, was a Commissioner for Justice during Jonathan’s time as governor between 2005 and 2007 and his believed to have the ears of Mr. President.

The Restoration Group through its spokesman, Surveyor Furoebi Sheba Akene, alleged that Gov Sylva had not only stalled the development of the state since assuming office but also heightened insecurity in the state.

“I can categorically tell you that that since President Goodluck Jonathan left Bayelsa still today, no pin has been added. Timipre Sylva has not added any project. The few estates Dr. Jonathan built are the only ones. The Ekole Bridge was built by Jonathan, the Tower Hotels and International Conference Centre stopped where Goodluck left it,” he declared.

Akene, who is member of the Presidential Monitoring Committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC said Bayelsans had been brutalized under the current administration, especially through the outlawed Famou Tangbe security outfit that allegedly maimed and killed several innocent people.

He said, “Dickson is the Moses that will lead the state to the promised land. He will not be like Moses who only saw the promised land but did not enter into it. Dickson will see the promised land and take us there.”

Ben Bruce

The entrance of this entertainment guru, an indigene of Akassa in the Brass council like the incumbent governor came is a

Ben Bruce

surprise to many as not much is known of him in the politics of the state. But the Akassa born showbiz mogul turned politician, according to some analysts, might just be the fresh air the state needed to turn around its untapped potentials.

Bolobou Orufa

Aside being the former Chairman of Yenagoa LGA, this Gbarain born politician, as gathered, played a major during his tenure in helping to boost the revenued that accrue to the council from the federation account. He is also said to have the ears of the wife of the President.

Christopher Enai

He was a pioneer member of the state house of assembly and later went on to represent the Bayelsa West federal constituency at the House of Representatives. His period at the National Assembly according to analysts was uneventful as he did not attract any federal project to his constituency.

A PDP member who spoke anonymously summed up the bickering between the governor and loyalists of the President thus, “the party is simply on a self destructive journey if not quickly checked. It is all about personal interest. This is what you get when godfatherism is allowed to hold sway in our politics.”

It is however the contention of analysts that whichever aspirant emerges victorious at the forthcoming primaries would have been that he worked hardest.

But the question however remains, will the gladiators put aside their differences to work for whoever wins the party ticket? The answer, as they say, is in the womb of time.