Bayelsa: Diri Needs Another Miracle After Annulment

By Emmanuel Aziken

The annulment of the election that brought Senator Duoye Diri into power may have brought another twist into the Bayelsa governorship puzzle.

It indeed sets the governor again to the starting block in his quest for political supremacy in the state after snatching victory from the jaws of defeat just hours to inauguration. That is why he has continued to refer to himself as the miracle governor.

The Bayelsa Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja on Monday nullified the election of Governor Duoye Diri. The decision of the three man panel was upon the exclusion of the candidate of the Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party and its candidate, King George, from the November 16, 2019 governorship election.

The tribunal ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct a bye-election within 90 days.

Though it is the court of first instance and Diri is likely to appeal, political stakeholders say that it would be very difficult to reverse the judgment given the clear exclusion of the complainants from the contest.

What follows will be of importance for Diri and his immediate predecessor, Serikae Dickson who railroaded him to power, albeit miraculously.

The scenario in the event of a rerun as it is bound to be is that an acting governor is going to preside over the state from the time that Diri steps down.

Fortunately for the PDP, the House of Assembly is firmly in the hands of the PDP with the party controlling 20 of the 24 seats in the House of Assembly.

The acting governor is likely to be the present Speaker of the House of Assembly, who if he holds on till then will be the Rt. Hon. Ngobere Abraham.

However, that is where the game stops for the PDP. Dickson was in power when the All Progressives Congress, APC won the governorship poll of November 16. As such the power of incumbency in Bayelsa raging against the federal forces of the APC would still be at play.

What could help Diri would be how he is able to forge unity among the PDP to enter into the rerun as a united house.

Unfortunately for the PDP and Diri, he has not as much as forged reconciliation after the division caused by Dickson during the primary process. With Dickson now very much relegated politically, the governor who should have taken the initiative to reconcile with his foes and Dickson’s foes has not done much of that.

His spat with Timi Alaibe after the former Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC boss sent him an initial congratulation is a case in point. Others who have written petitions against him have not been drawn closer. Comrade Joseph Ambakederimo of the Global Forum For Accountability and Transparency has been in the forefront of assaulting Dickson and DIri.

So, if he is to go for a rerun, the odds are that he would enter the contest with a divided PDP.

However, what could be beneficial to him is the determination of the opposition. Can David Lyon contest again given that his running mate was disqualified by the Supreme Court even after his initial victory?

If the APC led by Timipire Sylva is able to unknot that judicial encumbrance, Diri would be prey for Lyon.

However, if the APC is left out of the rerun election, the prospects of Diri holding on to his moniker as Miracle Governor may well be sustained.

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