Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The Bayelsa State Commissioner for Mineral Resources, Mr Markson Fefegha has resigned his appointment from the Bayelsa State Executive Council.
Also the Special Adviser on Conflict Resolution in Oil and Gas Producing communities’ Mr Timipa Tiwei Orunimighe, Special Adviser Governor’s Office, Mr Alamene Williams and Senior Special Assistant Community Development attached to the office of the Deputy- Governor, Mr Ombu Napoleon have all resigned in the latest gale of resignations that has hit the Dickson government over the protracted crisis ignited by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary election which produced Senator Douye Diri.
Fefegha who has been in the cabinet since the assumption of Dickson in 2012 who has held the position of Commissioner for Information and Orientation; Education and Mineral Resources at different times said his resignation would take effect from Friday, October 18.
“As one of the “first eleven” in your Restoration Administration, I cannot thank you enough for the various positions you graciously assigned me to collaborate and work towards the goals of the Restoration Agenda in Bayelsa State. It has been incredibly rewarding to have traversed almost all the gamut of the State Executive Council.
“But we do not live in a perfect world and sometimes circumstances intervene. After a period of deep reflection, I have decided to quit due to political uncertainty and other reasons personal to me. I hope to dedicate my life and energy to other assignments that will be more acceptable to God and humanity in the near future”
It is believed that Fefegha who was the director- general of the campaign organisation of Bayelsa deputy-governor Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah during the primaries and an advocate that the Jonah should be given the option of first refusal for the PDP governorship ticket threw in the towel because of the treatment meted out to the deputy- governor.
Orunimighe, a the founding chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) before defecting to the PDP ahead the 2019 presidential elections in his resignation letter said his “resignation is predicated on conflict of interest arising from intricacies that have characterised the 2019 governorship election in the state.”
Orunimighe and Williams are both from Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, the home of the APC governorship candidate, Chief David Lyon, and their resignation is a first step to their eventual defection to the party before the governorship election.