Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has described the delisting of Chief Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the list of governorship candidates in the November 11 election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as answer to his own prayer.
Governor Diri also stated that Sylva’s disqualification by a Federal High Court in Abuja was in furtherance of that prayer.
The Bayelsa governor, who is seeking re-election on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform, spoke at Ofoni community in Constituency 1 as he rounded off his campaigns in Sagbama Local Government Area on Wednesday.
Diri recalled how the former governor told Bayelsans through a live programme on Yenagoa-based radio stations in November last year that the chapter of contesting the governorship of the state again was closed.
He also stated that Sylva said on the programme that his party would pick a credible governorship candidate and it would not be him.
Diri noted that his current travails were God’s answer to his prayer.
His words: “They (Sylva) said categorically that they will never run for governor of Bayelsa again and God answered their prayers.
“INEC has published the names of those to contest the November 11 governorship election and Sylva and (Joshua) Maciver’s names were excluded.
“The court has also disqualified him.”
The governor thanked Ofoni community, where his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, hails from, for giving him their son that has been very supportive and working with him to deliver good governance to people of the state.
He said the beauty of government was to bring happiness to the people and allowing the principles of government work for the collective good, noting however that others believe that they were emperors and the others their slaves.
Also, the Deputy Governor thanked his people for always demonstrating their unflinching love for him and his principal, urging them to again give what he described as ‘Kano votes’ to the PDP in the election.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo emphasized that although the opposition shot itself in the foot by fielding an unqualified candidate and his running mate, the people still have to come out en masse to give the governor overwhelming victory.
It was a day Diri also inaugurated more projects in the local government area.
At Ofoni, an internal road, a motor park, another fully equipped technical college and a 10,000-seater pavilion were unveiled.
The campaign trail also visited the palace of the Odion of Ofoni Federated Community, where the 98-year-old oldest man in the community, Chief Timothy Ejuvwevwo, gave Diri and Ewhrudjakpo his blessings.
The PDP campaign made stops at Bolou-Orua, Ebedebiri, where the governor inaugurated a newly-built multiple purpose town hall as well as Angalabiri where an internal road and a bridge linking the community to Toru-Orua were inaugurated.
Other leaders, including the Sagbama Caucus chairman, Chief Fyneman Wilson, member representing Sagbama Constituency 1 in the House of Assembly, Dr. Oyinke Godbless, Acting Chief of Staff, Government House, Dr. Peter Akpe, the Sagbama Council caretaker committee chairman, Chief Richman Ndakwe, as well as the Commissioner for Special Duties (Bayelsa West), Dr. Churson Obosi all gave solidarity speeches and pledged their full support for the governor’s re-election.
On Tuesday, the governor visited communities in Sagbama Constituency 2, including Ogobiri, Okumbiri, Toru-Ebeni, Osiama, Akeddei and Agoro where he inaugurated a pavilion, landing jetty, solar-powered lights and town hall while promising that the communities would be linked to the rest of the state through the ongoing Toru-Ebeni road project.