Governor Timipre Sylva will not be able to contest next year's gubernatorial election of Bayelsa State under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), because he was excluded from the primary election which produced another candidate last Saturday. Leon Usigbe chronicles his battle to secure the ticket and the options that are available to him.PEOPLES Democratic Party(PDP) is done with Governor Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State, at least, over the party's ticket in February 2012 governorship election. As it is, the party conducted its primary election in the state last Saturday without giving a thought to the legal processes initiated by the incumbent governor to prevent his exclusion from the race. Serving member of the House of Representatives, Seriake Dickson, was declared the winner of the ticket in a contest with six other aspirants.The race for the party ticket started with at least 11 aspirants with Sylva, former Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Timi Alaibe, the proprietor of Silverbird entertainment group, and Ben Murray Bruce, as the front runners. Yet, they alongside Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources, Ambassador Godknows Igali, were the ones to be chopped along the way by the national leadership of the party.Even though PDP did not give overt reasons for its action, Igali could not make the cut because at the time the nomination and screening processes were on, he was out of the country on a national assignment. When he returned, he tried to make a case for himself, but the party was not interested in his story. Ben Bruce was considered a citizen of another country apart from carrying a Nigerian passport and where one holds dual citizenship, he cannot contest for governorship under the present rules of the PDP.Alaibe just could not convince the party to give him a waiver. He needed the waiver to be able to contest in the primary because he was considered a new entrant to the PDP, notwithstanding the fact that he had been one of its founding members in Bayelsa State. PDP rules say that an aspirant must have been in the party continuously for two consecutive years before he can be eligible to vie for any elective position except he is granted a waiver at the discretion of the party's hierarchy.The former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC) wanted to unseat Sylva for the party's ticket in last April's general election before the court declared that the governor had not finished his tenure. When Alaibe saw that PDP was hell bent on having Sylva re-contest the governorship, he left the PDP and joined the Labour Party (LP) whose governorship ticket he secured but could not use as a result of the court declaration on Sylva's tenure. Apparently sure that he had a chance against Sylva this time, he returned to the PDP to pick governorship nomination form but in spite of his effort, the national leadership formed a brick wall against him.Governor Sylva's situation has been very dramatic. During the last general election, PDP discouraged governorships aspirants from running against their incumbent state governors. In fact, that was how Sylva got the governorship ticket before the aborted governorship in Bayelsa State and four others. That is why his exclusion from this race has confounded politics watchers in Bayelsa and the rest of the country. He was screened and cleared by both the PDP Gubernatorial Screening Committee and the PDP Appeal Panel which therefore meant that his problem arose with the National Working Committee (NWC) or as some reports have suggested a personal beef with President Goodluck Jonathan.When the first list of cleared aspirants was released by the national secretariat of the party in Abuja after a review of the screening committee and the appeal panel reports, it contained the names of Oruta Justine Boloubo, Henry Seriake Dickson, Enai Christopher Fullpower and Kalango Michael Youppele. Eye brows were quickly raised over the absence of that of the incumbent governor, but PDP played down the issue by saying that it was just the first batch of the cleared aspirants for the race other aspirants were likely to be cleared.'The NWC session to conclude the review exercise continues in order to consider cases of other aspirants on their individual merits. All party members, particularly stakeholders in Bayelsa State are to please note that the NWC is handling this exercise painstakingly and shall communicate all its decisions in due course,' PDP had told anxious supporters.Even as at then, there were visible signs that Governor Sylva's case was as good as closed, following the endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan for his exclusion from the race. Before the announcement of the first cleared names, the party leaders were said to have sought and received the president's approval to exclude Sylva, after evidence suggested that Sylva may have violated rules guiding the operation of foreign accounts. Sylva smelled a rat and started a fight. He was not prepared to accept the situation. He said, in his initial reaction to the exclusion, that he had been inundated with all manners of reports suggesting that he had been disqualified and maintained that 'these reports are unfounded, laughable, but disturbing. I have not been disqualified. And there is no basis for my disqualification. What is clear to me, my supporters, and indeed all lovers of democracy in our dear country Nigeria, is that there is a desperate attempt by certain forces to illegally exclude me from seeking re-election as Governor of Bayelsa State on the platform of the PDP.'Sylva recalled that on Thursday, 27 October, he appeared before the PDP Gubernatorial Screening Committee for Bayelsa State at the Zonal Secretariat in Port Harcourt, noting 'my encounter with the committee was warm and friendly. Consequently, I was issued with a Provisional Clearance Certificate with Serial number 0000012 dated 28 October 2011. On Sunday, 30 October, I appeared before the Gubernatorial Screening Appeals Committee in Abuja at its invitation. Again, there was nothing to worry about.'The committee merely asked me to explain a few issues based on complaints they had received from certain interested quarters. Reports reaching me state without equivocation that this committee also upheld my clearance to contest the PDP Primaries slated for 19 November. As I speak, no organ of the party has informed me of anything to the contrary.'Sylva even dared to think that Jonathan was with him just as the national leadership of PDP in his attempt to clinch the ticket as he announced that he had their assurances.'I am in touch with the national leadership of our great party, including Mr President. I have received solid assurances at the highest levels that the party would base all its actions concerning the Bayelsa gubernatorial primaries on law. I am happy about that. As a sitting governor, I expect protection from my party and all its organs as all sorts of machinations can be plotted against me,' he claimed.Sylva obviously believed that things would change for him and was confident that he remained in the race and would, in fact, win the ticket, as he hoped that he would not be forced out of the PDP where he is a founding member.The PDP released more names cleared in the second batch of review exercise, including those of Doukpala Francis Amaebi, Ekiyegha Fred Korobido and Austin Febo. Things became increasingly disturbing for Sylva but he was still hopeful. The Bayelsa State Caucus of the National Assembly, weighed in by writing to the PDP, demanded that the governor be allowed to contest the gubernatorial primary of the party because he has already been screened and cleared.In a letter dated 9 November, which was addressed to the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP, the caucus claimed that the governor, legally speaking, has been cleared and qualified to contest in the primary election. The caucus held that anything short of his participation in the contest would be a violation of the supremacy of the constitution of the party. The letter was signed by Senator Heineken Lokpobiri (Bayelsa West Senatorial District), Senator Paulker Emmanuel (Bayelsa Central Senatorial Dsitrict), Senator Clever Ikisikpo (Bayelsa East Senatorial District), Honourable Warman Ogoriba (Yenagoa, Kolokuma/Opokuma Federal Constituency), Honourable Jephatha Foinghan (Brass/Nembe Federal Constituency,) Honourable Nado Karibo (Ogbia Federal Constituency) and Honourable Henry Ofongo (Southern Ijaw Federal Constitutency).On the other hand, PDP State Governors' Forum was fighting tooth and nail for clearance to be granted to Sylva. The governors set up a five-man committee to meet with Jonathan and the national leadership of the PDP in a bid to pressure them to clear the way for Sylva. Benue State governor, Gabriel Suswam, justified the governor's pressure on both the president and the party as an exercise in self-preservation and confessed that that since Sylva was affected, any member of the forum could also be affected in future.'Naturally, he is our colleague and we expect that we all go together and so, it's a game of self-preservation anyway. We take ourselves as governors and we expect that what affects one governor indirectly affects other governors as well,' he said. It is not clear what the governors might do now that their Bayelsa State colleague has been left out in the cold.Sylva went ahead to organise a public declaration of his interest in the gubernatorial race and brandished a provisional clearance certificate which he had earlier secured, creating the impression that he had already been cleared to contest in the primaries. But this attracted immediate reaction from the PDP which maintained that provisional clearance certificate does not entitle an aspirant to contest in the primaries.Unable to get the clearance therefore, Sylva approached the court to stop the conduct of the primaries and wanted the court to declare that the outcome of last year's primary election was still valid for the forthcoming gubernatorial election.Beyond the problem Sylva may have had with Jonathan, the national leadership of the party was said to have dumped the governor because he was seen to have conducted himself in a manner that suggested that he could not subject himself to the control of the party. The PDP gave indications that it wanted to use him to send a warning signal to other sitting governors that in spite of their powerful position, if they have reasons to disregard the wishes of the party, there are ways they could be checkmated.Before the gubernatorial election nomination process, Sylva was involved in a running battle with the national leadership of the party, culminating in the replacement of the chairman of the Bayelsa State chapter of the party favoured by the governor.'What we are trying to doing is to instill discipline in the party so that you will not think that just because you a governor, you will automatically get the ticket to re-contest and then do whatever you like,' a senior party source had volunteered. This essentially closed the door against the Bayelsan incumbent governor.He was rumoured to have opened discussion with the leadership of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) recently on the possibility of using its platform to realise his ambition of contesting the gubernatorial position that he has been denied by the PDP. A meeting was thought to have taken place in an undisclosed location in Abuja between him and ACN leader, Senator Bola Tinubu, where the modalities of his possible defection to the opposition party were said to have been worked out.Following the agreement reached at the meeting, the ACN was expected to deploy its campaign machinery to Bayelsa to begin the process of mobilising support for the governor. Apparently, this never materialised. Following the report on the meeting, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Doifie Ola, insisted that Sylva would remain in the PDP as he was sure to contest the primary election of the party in spite of indications to the contrary.The chairman of the state chapter of the PDP, James Dugo, hoped that the governor would remain in the party, even as he was not cleared to contest the gubernatorial election.'PDP is one big family. If for whatever reason that happens (Sylva is not given the ticket), I know the governor as a honourable man and I don't see him going to any other party. But rather, he will be in the party (PDP) to make things happen for the party,' the chairman declared.This appears to be the line of thought of the national leadership of the PDP which suggested that it was still prepared to accommodate the governor within the PDP system so long as he behaves well after failing to secure the ticket. But Sylva has maintained that rather than seeking accommodation, he wants justice.He is left with a few options now that he is unable to retain the governorship ticket of the party that brought him to power. The most attractive option may be to jump into another party and secure its ticket in time to contest in the February election. Only a few politicians have succeeded this way. He may rely on the courts to realise his ambition or even accept his fate and stay way from the election, hoping that the president and the party hierarchy may look upon him with favour and reintegrate him in the PDP. In which case, whatever sins he might have committed would be forgiven.
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