PDP clears three more for Bayelsa race, keeps Sylva, Alaibe waiting

THE drama over the gubernatorial candidature in Bayelsa State continued yesterday as the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cleared three more aspirants but still silent over the fate of the incumbent governor, Timipre Sylva and former presidential adviser, Timi Alaibe.Meanwhile, a former PDP governorship aspirant, Mr. Hinks Dambo yesterday filed a fresh suit before a Bayelsa State High Court in Yenagoa seeking to stop the party from conducting primaries to elect a candidate for the 2012 governorship polls in the state.The leadership of the party explained last week after clearing four aspirants for the November 19 governorship primary that it was still considering the cases of other aspirants including the incumbent governor.However, in the list released in a statement by the national publicity secretary of the party, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali, the two names were missed out.The statement read in part: 'In continuation of the review of the reports of the Screening Committee and the Screening Appeal Panel for the gubernatorial primaries in Bayelsa State, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party has approved the clearance of the second batch of aspirants to contest the primaries scheduled to take place on Saturday, 19th November 2011 along with those earlier cleared''.Those in the second batch of cleared aspirants are Doukpala Francis Amaebi, Ekiyegha Fred Korobido andAustin Febo.The statement added: 'The review exercise continues untill all issues concerning all aspirants are successfully dealt with and disposed off.''The party warned those peddling rumours that the NWC collected bribe to clear aspirants to desist from doing so.'Meanwhile, the NWC wishes to warn all those involved in rumour mongering, especially those peddling unfounded allegations against the national leadership of the Party to desist from such acts forthwith or face disciplinary action.'This warning has become necessary in view of mischievious and slanderous media reports accusing leaders of the Party of collecting various sums of money from aspirants. For the records, those rumours are false in their entirety. The NWC under the leadership of Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje is deeply commited to due process and the rule of law and no amount of mudslinging, intimidation and balckmail will divert our attention from this noble course.'Once again, we call on all our members in Bayelsa State to remain calm and focused and not allow any desparate political elements to cause division within their ranks'', the party said.The party, last week, cleared four aspirants to take part in the primary election. They are Oruta Justine Boloubo, Henry Seriake Dickson, Enai Christopher Fullpower and Kalango Michael Youppele.The suit, which was filed before Justice Geoffrey Botei, is seeking an interlocutory injunction restraining the PDP from conducting any primary election for the purpose of fielding a candidate for any governorship election in Bayelsa State.The development immediately threw Dickson's camp into a series of meeting where a decision was taken tofile a counter motion as it was suspected that Sylva's camp was behind the suit.In the counter motion, Sylvanus Abila representing the PDP also prayed the court for an order striking out the suit on the fact that the issues raised by the claimant relating to the nomination and sponsorship of candidates of the PDP for primary election for office of the governor are non-justiceable issues lying outside the jurisdiction of the court.Abila, while stating that Dumbo lacks locus standi, noted that he has not established a cause of action against the defendant.In his written address, Abila argued that the court would have assumed jurisdiction in the case if the primary election Sylva won was for the purpose of the forthcoming gubernatorial elections scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission for February 2012.He further said the Court would have been right to hear the case if Sylva's name as the winner of the said primary election was duly sent to INEC and his name has been or is being withdrawn or substituted with the name of another candidate.Justice Botei adjourned the case to November 12 for adoption of the written addresses.Sylva's non-clearance has been caught in a mist of speculations. At one time it was said that the governor has issues to answer before his clearance. And as the uncertainty deepens, there were indications that Jonathan told the NWC to have the final word on the clearance of aspirants. It was believed that the President took the stance in order to shield himself from insinuations that he had endorsed the ambition of some aspirants.Unsure of what next to do, Sylva approached his colleagues in the Nigerian Governors' Forum (NGF) to plead for him. The governors then met with the leadership of the party to find out what Sylva's problem is. The governors were said to have pointed out the implication of screening aspirants, particularly a sitting governor, out in controversial circumstances.The PDP governors later mandated the NGF's chairman, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers to meet with the leadership to sort out the issue.The matter also split the party's NWC as some of them were open to the clearance of the governor while others waited for orders from above, believed to be the orders from the President.After the plea from the governors, the governors were optimistic that 'the situation is still open' and the probability that Sylva will be cleared for the primary is high. The NWC of the PDP has also stated that the situation is still open and more aspirants will be cleared.As the governor went back to Bayelsa at the weekend to wait, the President cancelled a planned trip to Bayelsa to attend his brother's wedding. Amidst speculations that he stayed away to avoid pressure from aspirants, the president's aides said the president stayed away to sympathise with victims of the bombings in Yobe and Borno states.On Monday, the governor and his supporters held an open-air prayer meeting in a bid to take the matter to God.An aide to Sylva said that 'we have done everything possible and we have decided to leave the matter in the hands of God.'An elder statesman and former President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Prof. Kimse Okoko had warned that the confusion over the fate of Sylva was unfortunate. He prayed that the interest of the state should be taken into consideration in order to avoid the political turmoil that succession process has always ignited.He said: 'The PDP should avoid political turmoil in Bayelsa. Such turmoil in the past has not been helpful to the state. If this succession issue is not well handled, it will destabilise the state. We don't want that type of schism anymore.'The PDP is in a quagmire over the governorship of Bayelsa. So far, we don't seem to know what is going on. We feel saddened by the fact that we have become a spectacle in the country today, which is most unfortunate and I hope that sanity prevails.
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