As part of preparation for the 2019 general elections, Bayelsa State Governor, Honourable Seriake Dickson, on Friday asked his appointees, who want to contest for any political office to resign their appointments on or before the 15th of this month.

Governor Dickson, who stated this, during an interactive meeting with all political appointees at the Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall, Yenagoa, said the directive was in line with the guidelines of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the forthcoming elections.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Francis Ottah-Agbo, quoted the Governor, as saying that, the meeting was convened as one of the proactive steps of preparing the minds of the appointees towards the elections

He specifically directed all affected appointees to apply themselves to the standard practice of rendering their resignation letters to the Office of the Secretary to the State Government for proper acknowledgement and documentation.

The Governor, who re-emphasised the need for prospective aspirants to fervently pray and consult all critical stakeholders, insisted that, the PDP would only yield its platform to only those, who have the pedigree to win elections in their various constituencies.

According to the Governor, the PDP would once again demonstrate its dominance in the politics of Bayelsa by winning all the state and national assembly seats, because of the laudable successes recorded by the Restoration Government in the state.

He, therefore, tasked appointees, who will remain behind to occupy the political space with the achievements of his administration in terms of infrastructural development and the various life transforming policies and programmes, to remain committed to the service of the Government and people of the state.

To this end, Governor Dickson approved a special allowance, with effect from last month to all appointees to enable them interface with the people and sustain their continued support for the PDP.

His words: “For those who want to contest, who have the ambition to contest, you are in politics because you are ambitious. It is not a bad thing that you want to contest an election, to offer yourself for service. Pray well because by faith all power comes from God. Consult well too because in this game, the tools are human and we are in the business of serving human beings.

“Consult the people that are important to the decision that you are about to make. There are so many leaders of the party including myself. Make sure you consult from bottom to top.

“For those of you who have prayed well and consulted well, because of the guidelines, you will now have to tender your resignation. It must be sent to the office of the Secretary to the State Government. Many of you do not know this, so take note.

“You know what we went through in the last governorship election in the state, that's what you should expect from the opposition. We only went through and won because of experience and because we took measures to stop them and that's what all our candidates should be doing.

“You have to go home regularly to meet and interact with your people, leaders and voters, those that can help you win. After this meeting, from next week we will begin the process of consulting the leadership. Nobody will sit down in Government House to choose candidates.”

Earlier Special Adviser on Political Matters, Hon. Fyneman Wilson, said the meeting was convened at the instance of the Governor to sensitise the appointees on the requirements of the party and to avoid litigations during and after the elections.

According to Hon. Wilson the state PDP has commenced the deployment of its registers, cards and other vital materials to all the 105 wards in the state to ensure a successful registration exercise.

•Photo by Michael Owi shows Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson (L), addresses Political Appointees in the State, during a meeting at the Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall, Government House, Yenagoa. With him are: From Right: the Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah, Retd, the State Vice Chairman, PDP, Chief Mathew Israel Goli, and the SSG, Bayelsa State, Barr. Kemela Okara.

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