Dickson-Backed Restoration Group Overuns Alaibe, Others In Bayelsa PDP Ward Delegate Congress

By Tony Okechukwu

The Governor Henry Seriake Dickson led Restoration Group on Saturday over ran the Campaign Organisation òf Chief Timi Alaibe and other aspirants in the just concluded People’s Democratic Party Ward Delegate Congress.

The Restoration Team reinforced its dominance of the politics of the PDP and the state by registering an intimidating haul of the victorious number of delegates in the congress.

A chieftain òf the PDP said on the condition of anonymity that the outcome of the delegate conference and the massive presence displayed by the Restoration Team only demonstrated that the Restoration Group has total control of the politics of the PDP and even Bayelsa.

The PDP has been in control of the politics of Bayelsa since the commencement of democratic governance in 1999.

The source said that members of the Governor David Umahi-led Panel which visited Bayelsa to conduct the congress and other party officials were shocked that aspirants outside Restoration like Alaibe could not muster any presence to engage the Restoration Team in a contest at the Ward, Local Government òf State level.

The source said, “The routing of Alaibe and other aspirants was such that they did not even have people to engage their major opponents. In fact there is no other tendency in Bayelsa has the capacity to engage the Restoration Team in a contest at the Ward or State or Local Government level.

“They didn’t have people in every ward to stand up for them. It was resounding victory for the Restoration Team all the way, and that shocked everybody contrary to the brazen propaganda and attempt to create the wrong impression. Panel members and observers were shocked that when the time for the confrontation came, they were nowhere to be found.”

It was stated that when the stakeholders were gathered, Alaibe could only parade a few disgruntled stakeholders who defected from the APC to the PDP in November, and who have indeed been active in the politics of the All Progressives Congress until recently.

The source listed the few Alaibe’s supporters who registered a feeble presence at the congress to include Chief Rufus Abadi, a former APC Chieftain Chief Tiwei Orunimighe, Senatorial Candidate òf the Action Democratic Congress for Bayelsa East in the last general election, Sen Barigha Amange, and Chief Barnabas Edure.

The party Chieftain said that the panelists and party leaders were shocked that Alaibe and his team could not present more than the same set of defected APC politicians who Governor Dickson and the Restoration Team defeated alongside Chief Timipre Sylva Sen. Lokpobiri in the hotly contested gubernatorial election of 2015.

It was stressed that the outcome of the congress has further reinforced the reality in the Bayelsa politics that the Restoration Team is the most politically combat ready, formidable, resilient body with an intimidating presence across the state.

It was stated that the Restoration Team which prosecuted and won all the political contests for the PDP controls 18 out of the 19 PDP Assembly members of the 24 member House òf Assembly, two out of three Senators and three out of the five members of House òf Representatives in the state.

The group is also said to control all local Chairmen, the 105 councillors, numerous appointees, party stakeholders and supporters.

“What has happened with this congress should give you an insight into the current state of the politics of Bayelsa. No group can defeat the Restoration Team, not even the Federal backed APC let alone a small tendency within the PDP

“We were all shocked that at the point of confrontation, that the Alaibe and King Turner Group fizzled out because they lacked the physical presence and the capacity to engage the Restoration Team.”

Another source said that the Alaibe and King AJ Turner Group which aligned against the Restoration Group lost out completely and was resorting to name dropping preparatory to petitions against the process.

It was noted that a number of factors were responsible for the dismal outing of the Alaibe group in spite of the propaganda and deliberate ploy to misinform the public of its non existence political strength.

“With what has happened, it will be clear that contrary to the names that Timi Alaibe is dropping, contrary to the propaganda, he has no grassroots presence, no grassroot structures, outside of Governor Dickson and the Restoration Team to be a viable, candidate.

“Alaibe has never been a candidate in any election. At best, he is an untested political quantity who has not been a candidate in an election. His strategy has been to fight an incumbent governor. All he has been doing is fighting within a party against an incumbent governor.

“He claims he has support, create media hype, and lure people with funds, create a faction for himself, take a sitting governor headlong and then fizzled out. This has been his strategy right from Alamieyeseigha, and for over 20 years it has never worked especially now with the PDP in opposition and there is no centre to back a PDP Candidate.”

The source stressed that the strongest factor in the forthcoming election in the state was the governor who controls a cohesive structure with an awful presence across the state.