As the 2016 governorship election draws closer, Governor Henry Seriake Dickson, has reacted to accusations by the Bayelsa Peoples Consultative Assembly against the state government and their decision to quit the Peoples Democratic Party for All Progressives Congress (APC), describing their action as greedy.

Members of the group, who were until recently with the PDP and served in government both in the state and federal levels, expressed dissatisfaction with Dickson over alleged high-handedness in running affairs in the state.

They had also deliberated on whether the strategic interest of Bayelsa State could still be served through the PDP in the race towards development and have, therefore, resolved to join the APC.

But Dickson, in a statement issued on Sunday by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the accusations were misplaced as they were only disguised reasons to justify the actions of the body which, he said, “was more motivated by greed.”

“As a democrat, Governor Seriake Dickson believes that the proponents of the Bayelsa Peoples Consultative Assembly have the inalienable right to association but also conscious of the moral baggage of such tendency and indeed the motif. What is their objective in politics? Obviously this is an opportunistic lobby group desperately in search of power without any modicum of integrity.

“They should be reminded that contrary to their assertions, they actually constitute the problem of development in the state and not Governor Seriake Dickson. What is plying out is an offshoot of the governor’s long running battle with this class of politicians on the proper utilisation of state resources to serve the people and never to serve the greed of the few.

“Their selfish conception of politics and attitude in government are what had retarded development in the state since the era of the late statesman, Chief Melford Okilo. Bayelsans can never exchange the present peace and tranquility in the state as well as the unprecedented level of development for the chaos and unmitigated rent culture of the past.

“To the unsuspecting public, the body sounded patriotic but it is all a charade: the driving force of its members is to return the state to the status quo where the resources of the state are shared among a few greedy lot at the expense of state development. This is the truth. Since 1999, these are the same people who benefited in state and federal appointments which came with huge influence and privileges but what did they do with such power and influence?

“What has been their contribution to economic development and empowerment of Bayelsans? All they want is free access to money which will enable them to live big at the expense of development and this is the point of departure between them and Governor Dickson. So the motif of the body’s hypocritical declarations is the issue rather than the governor and his rising profile of remarkable accomplishments in development in the last three years in the area of education, health, infrastructure, agriculture, economic diversification and empowerment,” he said.

The statement added that the decision by members of BPCA to join the APC would not make any difference in the electoral fortune of the PDP in the forthcoming elections, adding that the people of the state would vote en masse for the reelection of Governor Dickson in appreciation of his performance in office.

“It is now harder for them to win no matter how they try in a free and fair election and with regards to what is on the ground in the state. It is assuring that the good people of Bayelsa will vote en masse for the re-election of Governor Seriake Dickson to appreciate his performance and continue the good job he’s doing,” the statement said.

•Photo shows Governor Dickson.

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