TIMIPRE Sylva, governor of Bayelsa State, remains defiant in his belief that he is the bona-fide candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the upcoming governorship election in the state
The governor made the point over the weekend, describing the PDP’s decision to send the name of another aspirant to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a charade.
Governor Sylva and his party leadership have been embroiled in a battle of wits over who will stand as the party’s candidate in the next election. The party, to the chagrin of the governor and its supporters, had decided that Mr. Sylva is not their preferred candidate.
“The party’s decision cannot stand,” Sylva said.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Doifie Ola, the governor said: “This unfortunate decision of the PDP is condemnable in every democratic sense.
“But it is all part of a serial illegality that began since preparation for the governorship election in the state.
“It gathered momentum and reached a frightening height with a November 19 primary held against the order of a court of law, and despite the absence of INEC.
“The action has been condemned by all and it is only natural that anything emanating from that process cannot stand. Nothing has changed from this truth.
“As for me and my able deputy, Werinipre Seibarugu, we remain committed to the February governorship election in Bayelsa State under our great party, the PDP.
“We are confident that the truth will emerge at the end of the day and, by the grace of God and the will of the people, we will be re-elected.
“The regrettable misadventure of PDP does not change the fact that we are in court challenging the illegal conduct of PDP in the Bayelsa State governorship race and it is only the court that will have the final say in the matter.
“Those trying to plant the seed of illegality at INEC must realise that Nigeria is a country governed under laws and PDP cannot afford to be a lawless fiefdom within the democracy.”
Sylva appealed to his supporters to remain calm and positive, saying, “We are confident in the ability of the judiciary to return sanity to the political situation in our state, so that together again we shall continue the patriotic task of taking our state to the next level.”
Sylva condemned INEC’s acceptance of the candidate from the November 19 primary.
,“Even though INEC has not announced a shift in its well advised rejection of the November 19 charade, it is only instructive to warn that INEC, a critical institutional bulwark against political arbitrariness, must resist the temptation to be drawn into the mucky waters of autocratic partisanship, which those who nurse a morbid fear for democracy and free choice have reduced the Bayelsa governorship race to.”