. Diri, Dickson’s Camp In Last Minute Moves, Lobbies Obj, Others
By Omuvwie Onohwakpor( South South Bureau Chief, The New Diplomat)
There is visible anxiety in Bayelsa State as the judgment on a pending suit over the disputed governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that produced Governor Douye Diri as governor of Bayelsa State comes up Tuesday, March 10 at the Federal High Court, Owerri in the suit challenging his eligibility, validity and legality.
This follows the reservation of judgment in the suit filed by for former managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and one-time Presidential Adviser on Amnesty Programme, Chief Timi Alaibe, who is not only challenging the legality, constitutionality, and appropriateness of the entire exercise that threw up Diri but also calling for the voiding of Diri’s candidature on grounds that it was illegally, inappropriately and ineligibly procured.
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Chief Alaibe who is also urging the court to declare him(Alaibe winner) because he complied with the eligibility and legal requirements known to law and the party guidelines for emergence of governorship candidates, posits that Diri, on the contrary, violated those provisions known to Law and the party guidelines.
Alaibe is said to anchor a major plank of his case on grounds that the PDP consequently committed electoral, and constitutional illegality by blatantly allowing local government chairmen, councilors , and all shades of ineligible persons to vote during the PDP governorship primaries in sharp contrast, and utter violation of the party’s guidelines which do not permit elected chairmen and councilors elected within 90 days to the election, to vote during governorship primaries.
Sources hinted that this development has thrown up much anxiety in Bayelsa State with the camps of former Governor Seriake Dickson and Governor Diri allegedly reaching out to former President Olusegun Obasanjo to reportedly prevail on the former NDDC helmsman to soft-pedal and pick up the Senate seat vacated by Diri, preparatory for a fresh governorship contest in 2023.
Recall that Diri, had visited former President Obasanjo at Abeokuta around 5:45 pm last week Sunday, and held a closed-door meeting with the former Nigerian leader for about 20 minutes. On the visit, the Bayelsa Governor was quoted as saying: “I have come to greet my father, our father, who is actually the father of Nigeria and Africa. I have come to felicitate him on his forthcoming birthday.”
Recall that the Supreme Court had recently declared PDP as winner of the Bayelsa State governorship polls, which had Diri as its candidate in the November 16 governorship election. The Supreme court’s decision had invalidated Chief David Lyon of the All Progressives Congress (APC) election who was earlier declared as the winner and governor-elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the Bayelsa State governorship elections.
However, The New Diplomat’s investigations show that the judgment that brought Diri into Office as governor has correspondingly fueled fresh political dynamics in Bayelsa State leading to current intense anxiety within the leadership of the PDP as the Federal High Court sitting in Owerri is set to deliver judgment on Chief Alaibe’s suit next Tuesday.
Chief Alaibe who came second in the disputed PDP primaries that produced Diri as PDP candidate is generally perceived as a strong, authentic and solid material that may have been shortchanged by political racketeering allegedly engineered by former governor Seriake Dickson. A petition against Diri’s as the PDP’s flagbearer by Chief Alaibe is still on-going at the Federal High Court, Abuja fueling fresh permutations about the likely outcome of such a delicate, and decisive suit. Some legal and political analysts in Bayelsa believe that the last has not been heard about the whole legal matters about the Bayelsa governorship” hence they are running to Obj, to Jonathan, to Buki(Bukola Saraki, to Turaki(Atiku) to mediate so that Alaibe can go to the Senate with a likely caveat that in 2023 he can then run…”
But competent sources close to Alaibe, and the PDP hierarchy in Abuja hinted that the former NDDC boss has come under serious pressures from PDP bigwigs including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-senate president Bukola Saraki, and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State to weigh options including accepting the Senatorial seat that has been vacated by Diri with the promise to wait for 2023 to take run for the seat again. But analysts blame Dickson for the political racketeering that allegedly threw up Diri.
Alaibe is said to predicate his case on grounds that PDP committed electoral, and constitutional illegality by blatantly allowing local government chairmen, councilors , and all shades of ineligible persons to vote during the PDP primaries in sharp contrast, and utter violation of the party’s guidelines which do not permit elected chairmen and councilors elected within 90 days to the election, to vote during governorship primaries.
Recall that Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, who was at that material time in question serving in acting capacity, had approved Chief Alaibe’s request for a transfer of his suit against Diri to Abuja for a variety of reasons.
Consequently, the presiding judge of the Federal High Court in Yenagoa, Justice Jane Inyang, had acceded to the directive of Justice Muhammad based on Alaibe’s request. Inyang had noted that Alaibe’s request was predicated on “security concern in the state. ”
Recall that Senator Diri who was backed by Dickson, had won the primary election. Diri scored 561 votes to beat Alaibe who polled 365 votes to come second position.
In a swift reaction then, Chief Alaibe’s campaign organization had described the process that threw up Diri as “flawed”, “manipulated” and that the people’s choice as reflected in the actual legal process was Alaibe, who was “brazenly robbed of victory”.
Alaibe and his team then proceeded to file a suit at the Federal High Court, Yenogoa, seeking, among other things the outright cancellation of the results of the PDP primaries that produced Diri because it is illegal, a violation of all known electoral laws, party guidelines and INEC were among the defendants in the suit.
In the originating suit filed pursuant to Order 3(9) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019, Alaibe is seeking to void Diri’s emergence as PDP candidate because it amounts to a clear breach of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Electoral Act 2010, the PDP Constitution, and the relevant Election Guidelines.
Alaibe submits that going by the conduct of the Bayelsa State chapter of the PDP in the whole gamut of the Ward Congresses with its inclusion of local government council officials in the delegates list, and the process for the inclusion of three ad-hoc delegates, the entire primaries that produced Diri amounts to an illegality, and should therefore be voided.
