Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to shift the governorship polls slated for November 2.
November 2 is a public holiday, backed by the laws of the state, as a Thanksgiving Day, and it has been celebrated with prayers since 2012.
Dickson, who spoke during the monthly praise night and the Eighth edition of the Easter Cantata programme in Yenagoa, the state capital, yesterday, called for shift and urged the INEC Chairman, Prof. Yakubu Mahmud, to show respect for God by shifting the election date.
Also, Dickson has given an insight on how his successor would emerge, ahead of the governorship primary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The governor said his successor would emerge through prayers and consultations.
Dickson harped on the need for all well-meaning Bayelsans and friends of the state to pray for its continued stability and peace.
While urging the people to seek the face of God for divine direction as the PDP embarks on the search for the next governor of the state, he said it is his prayers that the state would not be handed over to a person who has no regard for God’s authority.
According to the governor, his position on who succeeds him is firmly anchored on the belief that God does not only give power but truly rule in the affairs of men.
Said Dickson: “As usual, let me call on all of us to seize this period of Easter, which is a period for sober reflection, to continue to invite the presence of God in our state.
“We must not relent in our prayers because the enemies of our land are planning hard to destroy the peace and stability we have laboured to build.
“But, we have nothing to fear. They put their trust in chariots, weapons and connections in Abuja, but we trust in the Almighty God who has always saved us.
“Since we handed over our government to God, we have been reinforcing it through prayers and positive declarations that this state, which I call the Jerusalem of the Ijaw nation, shall not be handed over again to anybody who does not fear the authority of the Almighty God above.
“I will formally invite everybody in this state to pray because I feel the next leader of our state is not going to be selected from my pocket. No, I won’t do that; it is too important a decision to come from one person.”