By Hamilton Nwosa
On the eve of the Bayelsa State tension-soaked governorship election on Saturday, November 16, 2019, a keen political observer had symbolically commented on Facebook as to how the election was essentially going to be long-drawn, historic and Homeric political battle for supremacy between Minister of State for Petroleum and former Bayelsa State governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, who is the leader of APC in Bayelsa State and the current State governor, Hon Seriake Dickson, who is the Bayelsa State PDP Leader.
This was precisely what unfolded last Saturday as the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the State, Chief David Lyon, defeated the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship Candidate, Senator Duoye Diri with an unprecedented landslide that many Bayelsans interpret as voters decision to punish Governor Dickson for alleged arrogance and political indiscretion. It was essentially the outcome an epic battle between Sylva and Dickson.
THE NEW DIPLOMAT had in its polls survey projections on the elections released about a month ago accurately crowned the APC to win overwhelmingly in both electoral and popular votes in last Saturday election.
For many, Bayelsans handed Dickson a crushing defeat with six Local government areas swinging massively to APC’s broom. PDP’s umbrella was only able to hold on to two Local government areas as earlier projected by THE NEW DIPLOMAT’s Poll Survey.
The INEC returning officer in the election and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin, Faraday Orumwese, who announced that APC’s Lyon polled 352,552 votes to defeat PDP’s Diri who polled 143, 172 votes said the total number of registered voters was 922, 562 while the number of accredited voters was 517,883.
THE NEW DIPLOMAT had earlier reported how Chief Lyon won in 6 of the 8 local governments in the state while PDP’s Senator Diri won in two.
The development has led to the political deflation of Governor Dickson by star-studded Sylva-led APC forces in Bayelsa State. But why did Governor Dickson and PDP crash so badly in last Saturday’s election? We provide the answer.
10 REASONS AT GLANCE WHY PDP LOST
1. Dickson’s failure to understand the internal dynamics of stake-holders management, collective enterprise, conciliation, service delivery, etc.
2. Star-studded Sylva-led APC forces in Bayelsa State and their unrelenting sense of direction.
3. Dickson’s alleged disregard for former President Goodluck Jonathan (Dickson’s benefactor).
4. Technology: APC’s deployment of technology and hybrid poll tracking tolls to track voters demographics, voters preferences and targeted real-time eligible voters across the State.
5. Alaibe Factor: Dickson’s decision to foist an unpopular governorship candidate on PDP against the Jonathans and many stakeholders choice of Timi Alaibe.
6. Unbridled Ambition: Dickson’s ambition to solely determine who gets what, i.e. wanted to produce Governor, deputy governor, Senator, Speaker, Council chairmen as well as councilors.
7. APC’s Lyon’s candidature aligned more perfectly with Bayelsa voters as opposed PDP’s Diri.
8. PDP’s Divided House: Dickson’s government was hit by a wave of mass resignation and decampment, throwing the PDP into a totally fractured party with no room for conciliation.
9. Dickson’s gaffe in tipping Ewhrudjakpor (an Urhobo) as Diri’s running mate in a 99.9% Ijaw-speaking State, raising concerns among the Ijaw that an Urhobo could be governor by default.
10. PDP’s over-reliance on old political structure, forgetting that the electorate that constitute the structure have since pitched tent with the APC! (The New Diplomat)
