The Bayelsa West Patriotic Front has called on Governor Douye Diri to stand firm on the existing arrangement of zoning of the Senate and House of Representatives seats between Sagbama and Ekeremor local government areas.
The group, made up of politicians from the Peoples Democratic Party in the two local governments, urged Diri not to be deceived by the praises the incumbent Senator Seriake Dickson showered on him during the yuletide.
The BWPF in a statement on Wednesday in Yenagoa by its coordinator, Owei Ebiagbe, said the governor had a responsibility to ensure peace, equity and fairness in the senatorial district by supporting the age-long peace accord on rotating the seats between Ekeremor and Sagbama.
Ebiagbe, in the statement titled, ‘Bayelsa West and the politics of 2023 and 2024’, stated that Diri should be suspicious of the former governor’s moves to breach the agreement for him to return to the Senate by all means possible.
He pointed out that Dickson’s accolades on Diri in the areas of good governance, peace, security and infrastructural development in the state were one of the ploys to hoodwink the governor into backing his second term ambition in the senate.
According to him, the Senator was bent on truncating the existing pact on rotation in Bayelsa West to sustain his selfish interest and political relevance.
The BWPF warned that Diri would lose political support from the area if he failed to uphold the existing zoning arrangement, adding that Dickson while in office also stopped Senator Heineken Lokpobiri (from Ekeremor) from scuttling it.
Ebiagbe further reminded the governor that Dickson, while in office, also ensured that the zoning arrangement between Ogbia, Nembe and Brass in Bayelsa East was respected by all stakeholders which was why Senator Ben Murray-Bruce could not get a second term ticket in 2019.
He said, “Despite the theatrics being displayed by the former governor, Seriake Dickson, in his bid to scuttle the existing rotational agreement, Governor Douye Diri should stand firm to uphold the peaceful co-existence in the ruling PDP.
“But what is more intimidating and of great concern is that the governor needs to know that his handling of this present situation will surely determine his acceptance and chances of re-election.”
