From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
IN 2011 at the height of former governor Timipre Sylva’s battle with the then leadership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the governorship ticket of the party, during a rally at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex, Chief Tiwei Timipa Orunimighe then as Chairman Southern Ijaw local government council threatened that heavens would fall if the PDP attempted to stop Sylva as its candidate. Sylva was stopped and even suspended by the party but heavens did not fall. However, even though Orunimighe’s threats did not work but he was able to seal his place in Sylva’s political family. And in 2014 shortly after the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with some PDP governors and bigwigs joining the party, the responsibility of picking the Bayelsa party officials fell on Sylva who was caught between his political godson, Orunimighe, whom he made a local government chairman without any administrative experience and his erstwhile aide, Chief Richard Perekeme for the position of the state party chairman.
Eventually, Sylva picked Orunimighe because according to him, Perekeme had image problem due to his past role as the supervisor of the dreaded Bayelsa state security outfit, Operation Famuo Tangbe. But what Sylva failed to disclose was that Orunimighe despite his lack of political tact was seen as a core loyalist who would not rock the boat and would hold the party together without questioning the authority of the political leader. Such assumptions of absolute loyalty has since fallen flat on the face with the recent outburst of Orunimighe, his deputy Eddy Julius and secretary, Marlin Daniel who not only questioned the continued role of Sylva as the leader of the party in the state but also exposed the endless intrigues in the Bayelsa APC as mutual distrust and the struggle for juicy political appointments among party members reign supreme.
According to investigations, few days before Orunimighe’s press conference, he and others had a meeting with Sylva in which pending political appointments were discussed with the party leaders demanding for juicy positions for their sacrifice for the party. They were said to have demanded that the position of the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Content and Development Monitoring Board (NDCMB) which is to be given to Bayelsa be ‘zoned’ to them to ensure that Orunimighe gets the position. Sylva’s explanation that in the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, merit and experience would be considered as the law establishing the board states 15 years experience in the Oil industry for the person who wants to occupy the position of the executive secretary did not go down well with Orunimighe. He did not mince words as he confronted Sylva in his press conference.
Aside accusing Sylva of allegedly single-handedly picking appointments meant for Bayelsa by sidelining the state leadership of the part, he was alleged to be selling the appointments to non-party members with the list already submitted to the Secretary of the Government of the Federation ( SGF).
“We also want to call on the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, a junior minister from Bayelsa State to resign his appointment because he also paid for the slot of his ministerial position and I also believe and those of us standing here know very well that he is not a member of the party. As APC chairman in Bayelsa and very strong exco, we have spoken with him. We told him we will stand against that as a people; if we can stand against Jonathan as a President, if we can stand against the governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson to tell him we don’t like his antecedent as governor, we can also tell our leader that we don’t like his antecedents. We are not ready as a people to sell any slot of appointment to be given to Bayelsans.”
Though Sylva countered Orunimighe and accused him of disloyalty by allegedly conniving with the PDP to scuttle the last governorship election, his indefinite suspension with two others by the other members of the state executive committee over allegations of gross misconduct, anti-party activity and financial misappropriation further led to more supposed political secrets coming out of the closet.
In the suspension of Sylva and four other members of the executive, Orunimighe went the whole hog to bare his fangs as he accused him of anti-party activity.
“We have it on good record that Timipre Sylva paid a clandestine visit to one of the South- South Governors of the PDP; this is just one of the series of correspondences between them and we find it grossly unbecoming. This is in direct breach of Article 21, under ‘Offences’ in the party constitution which states in section 2, ‘Anti- Party activities or any conduct, which is likely to embarrass or have adverse effect on the party or bring the party into hatred, contempt, ridicule or disrepute’ is punishable”.
He did not stop there as he also fingered him in the attempt to form a parallel executive and –re-echoed the accusations of trading political appointments.
Hear him: “Worse still is that, members of the opposition who vehemently stood against the change ideal and still do not believe in our party’s cause are with him on the bargaining table. This is not in fidelity with the party’s constitution which states in Article 21, section 1, subsection 3 that ‘…Engaging in dishonest practices…’ are punishable by full stretch. We have tried on countless occasions to advise him on the dangers of his untoward behaviours, but each time we are faced with threats and insults. The party will not tolerate acts of indiscipline from anyone no matter how highly placed the individual is”
But the minority leader of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Hon Israel Sunny- Goli rising in defence of Sylva has described Orunimighe’s allegations as baseless. According to him, Orunimighe’s problem is that he is afraid of his political future because he has failed to land a juicy federal appointment.
“It is unfortunate that Tiwei would be making baseless allegations. His statement that Senator Heineken Lokpobiri is not an APC member is enough proof that he is afraid of the calibre of people coming into the party to help build it in the state. We can no longer accept his attitude as chairman. We cannot allow him to speak for the party again. Tiwei’s allegations are unfounded. He has over prized himself and nobody is going to take him serious. Since he could not get the running mate ticket, he has been bitter and seeking ways to betray and destroy the party. We are aware of his role in the last governorship election and we know him for who he is.”
Sunny- Goli’s comments about Orunimghe’s role in the last Bayelsa State governorship election opened another vista to the intrigues in the Bayelsa APC as core loyalists of Sylva have vowed in hushed tones to serve Orunimighe the bitter pill of revenge over allegations that he sabotaged the governorship election in his ward to get back at Sylva for over- looking him for the position of Minister and then running mate.
Indeed, before the Bayelsa governor ship elections, Sylva was told by two erstwhile Ijaw youth activists how a prominent freedom fighter revealed to them how Orunimighe was allegedly leaking to the PDP all the APC election plans and strategies. Sylva and his loyalists would have moved against him but decided to play along while waiting for the right moment to strike and cut him to size. The right moment seems to have presented itself as Sylva and Lokpobiri have decided to go for Orunimighe’s jugular by tagging him an agent of the PDP in the bid to destroy the party.
In a statement signed by his Special Assistant, Media, Donald Ojogo, Lokpobiri who denied the allegation that he paid for his ministerial slot stated that the crisis within the Bayelsa APC was being “orchestrated by an insignificant few within the party and oiled by some external forces who feel threatened about their political future, especially as the APC challenges the outcome of the last governorship election at the Election Petition Tribunal”
But Sylva in a statement by his media adviser, Doifie Buokoribo was more explicit as he cautioned Governor Henry Seriake Dickson to desist from his current efforts to destabilise the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state through the circulation of falsehood and sponsorship of disaffection in the party.
Sylva who accused Dickson of using some “discredited and suspended” officials of APC in the state as moles to try to cause internal disaffection and blackmail the party and its leaders, warned that the devilish conspiracy against APC will always be exposed and demolished. He added that it would be an effort in futility, as he will eternally fail in his attempts to dissuade key members of the party.
The statement reads: “Of late, Dickson and his party, Peoples Democratic Party, have re-enacted their pastime of spreading falsehood about APC and its leaders in Bayelsa State and trying to create dissension where none exists. Living under the shadow of fear of losing the stolen mandate, since APC filed a petition at the election tribunal, Dickson has applied every available mischief to try to destabilise the party and blackmail its leaders.
“They have now procured the services of some discredited officials of APC, who were suspended recently. These renegades are being used by Dickson and PDP to spread wild, unsubstantiated allegations against Sylva and the Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri.
In an apparent reaction to the attack on Dickson, the state chapter of the PDP took a swipe at the APC over its internal bickering resulting from crisis of confidence. The party in statement by its secretary, Godspower Keku while warning that the APC should not allow its crisis cause a breach of peace in the state said the unfolding drama in the party is not surprising, taking into account the personalities involved.
““As a party, we are glad that all this is coming into the open for the general public to see the stuff these characters are made of. For them, anything can be bought, including their quest to bribe the judiciary to deliver judgement in their favour. Thankfully, the secret evil plot has now come to public knowledge and the whole world is watching to see how the judiciary will be compromised to truncate the will of the people”, Keku stated.
For Bayelsans, the current crisis is a sad commentary considering that the state needs a viable opposition to bring out the best in the PDP government. This point was well captured by the APC National Vice- Chairman South- South, Mr Hilard Eta.
“The spate of suspensions, counter-suspensions and general disorganisations of the Bayelsa State chapter of our great party – the All Progressives Congress, is disheartening. That the state chapter could be on the warpath at a time that it should be cohesively charting ways to successfully prosecute the election petition tribunal case concerning the recently held gubernatorial election, in which Seriake Dickson supposedly won, is even more saddening.
“As the Chairman of the party in the zone, I am particularly miffed by the state of affairs in the Bayelsa APC and I publicly exhort the aggrieved parties to sheath their swords. Going by the provisions of Article 21 of the amended constitution of our party, the suspensions are null and void and done in bad faith. In the said article, our constitution lucidly outlines the steps to be diligently followed for a party member or executive to be suspended.”
Now that Orunimighe has decided to pitch his tent with a former governor in the South- South who in the struggle for political control in the region plots the decimation of Sylva, the question remains whether Bayelsa APC leaders have reached a point of no return or the internal mechanisms of the party would be able to tame the greed and selfish interest inherent in the political psyche of its members in Bayelsa.