By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor & Samuel Oyadongha

YENAGOA – Leaving the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is not an option for Governor Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State, Vanguard gathered, Monday, just as the ongoing battle for political supremacy formally relocated from Abuja to Bayelsa State.

Gov. Sylva, while seeking the face of God at a prayer rally in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, yesterday, thumbed up peace as a legacy of his administration, adding that no peace-loving Bayelsan would love to go back to the era of insecurity.

At about the same time, associates of President Goodluck Jonathan, who are propping up Rep. Henry Dickson to unseat the incumbent, converged at a rally where they formally launched the campaign to win the PDP gubernatorial ticket for Dickson.

Dickson at the mammoth rally pledged to restore the glory of Bayelsa State, which he claimed had been soiled by four years of the Sylva administration.

Sylva was spending his third straight day in Bayelsa since the crisis over his participation in the PDP gubernatorial primaries erupted more than 10 days ago.

Optimism of an immediate clearance for the governor among his associates was flagging, yesterday, as political battle for the governance of the state stepped up.

Sylva’s campaign posters

There were reports of the citing of the Governor’s campaign posters in the colours of All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, on the East West road, Monday.

The governor’s camp was quick to disown the posters, tracing them to mischief makers.

The state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Nathan Egba, told Vanguard, yesterday, that the posters were the handiwork of fifth columnists who were out to paint the governor in the image of a bad party man.

Affirming the Governor’s resoluteness to pursue his clearance to its logical conclusion, Mr. Egba said: “Leaving the party is not an option as there was no way that the governor would leave the party and only back to start seeking a waiver.

“If he is excluded and there is no legal ground for such exclusion, you can be sure that the governor would go to court to enforce his fundamental rights.

The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria Bayelsa State chapter in conjunction with the Christians Association of Nigeria CAN organised the special prayer rally for a peaceful 2012 governorship poll in the state. The rally was attended by the Governor and it took place just after a press briefing where the state chapter of ALGON threw its support behind the Governor.

Dickson launches campaign

The Okaka stretch of the ever busy Isaac Boro Expressway in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital was yesterday shutdown to traffic when Dickson launched his campaign to unseat Sylva.

Thousands of supporters spotting Seriake Dickson T-shirt thronged the venue of the declaration which also houses the Dickson campaign office as early as 9a.m. and waited under the scorching sun until about mid day when the event kicked off.

Security was beefed up in the area as men of the anti bomb squad were sighted in the early hours of the day combing the venue.

Speaking on the occasion, Dickson accompanied by King Amalate Johnny Turner, a former chairman of the PDP in the state, Fred Agbedi and some close associates of President Jonathan, said he was offering himself to help restore the lost glory of the state in accordance with its founding principles as the ‘Jerusalem’ of the entire Ijaw ethnic nationality.

He said: “Today, I affirm to you all my determination to reconcile all our people; to rally our people together and to lay the foundation for a Bayelsa of our dreams.”

“Two weeks ago, I sent a letter to you my elders, leaders, women and youths of Bayelsa, of my intention to enter the gubernatorial race to salvage our dear state from the grip of anarchy, insecurity, bad governance, and reckless abuse of state power and resources without a corresponding sense of honour, responsibility and compassion. In that letter, I set out general principles that would form the basis upon which development would rest.

“You all are aware that in 2007, when the present administration in state was elected into power, we were all full of hopes that the dreams and aspirations of our people would be met and that foundations of our development which previous administrations laid, would be sustained and consolidated.”

Describing the Timipre Sylva led administration as failure that has mortgaged the future of the state with a huge debt profile, he said, “the present administration has failed in spite of the improved statutory revenue which as accrued to the state.

“The government has failed in spite of the historic opportunities that exist now for synergy between the state and federal government at this point in time. We have squandered unique opportunities. We have wasted five years.”

Stressing that the state cannot afford another four years of wastage, he said, “as a result of the these failures and following wide consultations with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, opinion leaders, women and youth groups, I have heeded the call of well meaning Bayelsans and the entire Ijaw nation from far and wide to restore glory to our Gloryland. To do this, we have set up a formidable campaign organisation appropriately called Restoration 2012 with the theme “Our Bayelsa Future.”

The PDP governorship aspirant who promised to take his campaign to the nooks and crannies of the state to actualise his dream assured that if he would unfold a pragmatic paradigm shift in the governance culture through which the development of the would be anchored.

The state educational sector he assured would be overhauled while the abandoned school for gifted children would be completed and put to use.

He called on the army of supporters to observe a minute of silence for late Freddy Ockiya and all those who were murdered by the Operation Famou Tangbe, which he described as a terror squad set up by the present government to silence perceived opponents.