Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Majority of the aspirants of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have opposed plan by aggrieved aspirants to write a petition against the national delegate election held in Bayelsa on Monday.
The aspirants disagreed with a move allegedly spearheaded by the former managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Timi Alaibe, to petition the national headquarters of the PDP to fault the outcome of the congress.
Former chief of staff to the governor, Talford Ongolo, said in a statement that only four out of the 21 aspirants initially agreed to be part of the petition against the Bayelsa national delegates congress.
He said one of the aspirants, Emmanuel Paulker, who initially agreed to sign the petition, had pulled out, thereby bringing the number of purportedly aggrieved aspirants to three.
“The bulk of the aspirants hold the view in a meeting at the Government House that it was unnecessary to write a petition against a process that was transparently carried out.
“Our aspirants took their turns to speak vehemently against writing any petition to taint a process which they all agreed was transparent, credible free and fair. They acknowledged the fact is that the party allowed all aspirants to access the panel sent by the national leadership of the party a day before the congress,” he said.
The aspirants, he said, was of the view that the Bayelsa National Delegate Congress, which held under the supervision of Abia State Deputy Governor, Ude Oko Chukwu, was free and fair.
A look at the result of the congress showed that over 90 percent of the delegates came from the Restoration Team under the control of Governor Seriake Dickson.
Poll watchers believe the outcome of the delegates’ election reinforced the dominance of the Restoration Caucus of the PDP in the politics of the state.
Governor Dickson-led Restoration Group had earlier recorded a resounding victory over its major opponents including Alaibe in the three-man ward delegates congress supervised by Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, on Saturday.