Jonathan may lose Bayelsa as PDP crisis deepens

• Suspended chairman blames Dickson

President Goodluck Jonathan risks losing
his home state to the opposition in the
forthcoming elections except the feud in
Bayelsa State chapter of the Peoples
Democratic Party ( PDP ) is resolved ,
indications emerged yesterday .
The crisis rocking the party assumed
dangerous dimension at the weekend
following suspension of the party chairman ,
Col . Sam Inokoba (retd ) , over allegations
that he diverted N 70million donated to the
PDP by the Minister of Petroleum
Resources, Mrs . Diezani Allison- Madueke.
But the chairman denied wrong doing in
distributing the largesse .
He rather blamed his travails on the second
term ambition of Governor Seriake Dickson.
Inokoba was said to have claimed that his
refusal to sack some loyal members of the
party as directed by the governor was
responsible for his travails .
He specifically claimed the governor ordered
him to suspend party members accused of
belonging to the camp of the First Lady ,
Dame Patience Jonathan.
The deepening crisis in the party originated
from the reported ambition of the First Lady
to oust Dickson and replace him with her
preferred choice.
The First Lady was said to have hijacked the
state chapter of the Transformation
Ambassadors of Nigeria ( TAN ) as a platform
to carry out activities aimed at actualising
her ambition .
To fight back , the governor has been
weeding off persons believed to be loyal to
the First Lady in his cabinet .
Though Jonathan had declared those
against the governor his enemies , it was
gathered that the inability of the president to
call his wife to order had fuelled the party’ s
impasse.
A source from the party said the president
risks protest votes in the forthcoming
elections unless he takes practical steps to
end the imbroglio.
The source, who spoke in confidence , said
the supporters of Dickson were not happy
with the excesses of Jonathan’ s wife and
her plots against the governor.
“ We have never seen this kind of scenario
before. The governor is working to give
Mrs. Jonathan and her husband a second
term while the First Lady is working to deny
Dickson a second term or even sack him
before the end of his tenure .
“ The governor is working to maintain peace
in the state and to ensure that the President
is not disgraced at home while Mrs .
Jonathan is turning the entire state against
the governor . There must be protest votes
if these things continue, ” he said .
Also, Ijaw youths from the state argued that
the suspension of the chairman was ill -
timed and capable of affecting the chances
of the President at the poll.
The Youths , drawn from the eight local
government areas in the state , said the
allegations of financial impropriety against
the chairman were diversionary .
The youths under the aegis of Niger Delta
United for Jonathan (NDUJ ) said it was
unfortunate that the president and Allison -
Madueke were being dragged into the
financial scandal.
NDUJ, in a statement in Yenagoa signed by
its Secretary , Azibaayam Iborisi , and Public
Relations Officer , Ebimiewei Timi, insisted
that the decision of the State Executive
Committee (SEC ) was questionable .
The statement said : “ It is particularly
worrisome that those orchestrating the
crisis behind the scene have decided to
drag the good name of the President , Dr .
Goodluck Jonathan, and the Minister of
Petroleum Resources, Mrs . Deziani Allison-
Madueke, into the crisis of confidence
between the state governor and the
presidency .
“ Considering that the said rally was meant
to galvanise the home base of President
Goodluck Jonathan, the idea of igniting a
controversy over a donation less than a
week after the rally is clearly a deliberate
act of sabotage and a disservice to the
people of the state .
“ It is , however, instructive that while those
claiming to have suspended the chairman
are alleging sharp practices with the said
donation , the embattled chairman claims his
woes are as a result of his refusal to do
Governor Seriake Dickson’ s bidding to
suspend certain highly placed party men,
perceived to be loyal to Mrs. Patience
Jonathan from the PDP at the state level for
alleged anti-party .
“ The question is why the hurry to suspend
the chairman , knowing fully well that it is
less than five weeks to the presidential
election and the party needs to keep a
united front, a call Mr . President himself
made in his speech at the rally . ”
The group added : “ We are convinced that it
is a deliberate ploy to drag innocent and
respectable Bayelsans into the fray,
considering that the many attempts at
maligning the first Lady , Dame Patience
Jonathan, has not yielded the desired
results.
“ We therefore advise the Bayelsa PDP SEC
members and their sponsor , Governor
Seriake Dickson , to desist from further
calling the innocent woman ’ s name in his
bid to bring on board a pliable man as
party chairman and also tender a public
apology to the Honourable Minister for their
indiscretion. ”