By Samuel Oyadongha

Yenagoa—A member of the House of Representatives, Douye Diri, weekend, dismissed claims that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Bayelsa State, was jittery over the gale of defections from the party. Douye, who represents Yenagoa/ Kolokuma/ Opokuma federal constituency, at an interactive session with newsmen in Yenagoa, insisted that the PDP will record a landslide victory in the December 5, governorship election.

He said: “The PDP in Bayelsa State is not jittery over the gale of defection from the party and the party will record a landslide victory in the December 5 governorship poll. “People defecting today were former commissioners and political appointees in the state.

They were collecting our allowances and spending the money in Abuja. Because it is no longer business as usual, they are disgruntled.

“Why didn’t we have a flyover in the six years administration of Timipre Sylva? Why didn’t we have roads expanded in Bayelsa? But they were collecting more money from federal allocation and because it is no more sharing of Bayelsa wealth and because it is difficult for them to change, they are jumping to another party.

“Almost all of them that left are now governorship aspirants. All they are saying is for the benefit of those who do not know them. But for us who know them well, we know they are greedy. Now that the people of the state are benefiting from robust fiscal, economic and infrastructural development policies, they are angry.”

Speaking further, he said though ethnic bias and coloration cannot be wished away from political struggles, the declaration that the party was predominantly an Ijaw party in Bayelsa State was due to the benefits the PDP had accorded the Ijaw people with the emergence of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as President and the political history from the union of the PDP and the defunct National Solidarity Movement, NSM, led by the late former governor of old Rivers State, Senator Melford Okilo.

“I disagree that the PDP is a region party. We have governors in the North and the South-West region,” he said.