Bayelsa contest is about issues not personalities — Rep Diri

Hon. Douye Diri is the member of the House of Representatives for the Yenagoa/Kolokuma-Opokuma Federal Constituency, in Bayelsa State. In this interview, Diri states that the governorship contest in Bayelsa State is not about personalties but about issues.  Excerpts:

By Lindsay Barrett

Hon. Diri what do the defections in Bayelsa State, from the PDP to the APC portend? In recent weeks some well-known personlities from the PDP who were regarded as your close associates have surfaced not merely as members of the new party but also as aspirants for the governorship slot. Will their popularity in the past translate into a switching of public loyalties in the forthcoming contest?

While I must admit that many of us have been disappointed by the defection of some members of our party we are glad that they have shown their true colours at this point in our state’s political history. As we prepare for a new set of political circumstances in which we will confront adversity rather than privilege it is those who place personal ambition before the genuine interests of the people who will chose to abandon a collective cause that they supported for nearly two decades. We have been amazed and amused at the spectre of nearly a score of our former associates suddenly seeking to emerge as the gubernatorial candidate from a party that they have just joined.

Hon. Diri

This suggests that their only reason for abandoning the Peoples Democratic Party is in search of glory rather than in order to provide true service for the people. However the voters in Bayelsa State are fully aware of the issues that are at stake and they know that the enthronement of the personal ambitions of individuals should not be the main objective of their voting. For this reason we are convinced that in the forthcoming governorship election they will give the party a resounding mandate similar to that which they gave it only a few months ago in spite of the disappointment that they might feel over the betrayal of their loyalties by those in whom they placed their trust before.

The issues on the ground are not about the ambitions of political office seekers but rather about the defence of the genuine interests of the people which the PDP established in its years in ascendancy as the ruling party. It would be hard for any of them to claim that they did not benefit at all from being a member of the PDP and it is ironic that the popularity that they gained from their privileged membership of their former party is exactly what they are trying to deploy in the service of their new-found masters.

It has been said that Governor Dickson’s victory at the polls in 2011 was due to his loyalty to the then President Jonathan; with that factor no longer extant will he be able to command similar support from the voters in the forthcoming contest?

It is certainly true that Governor Dickson displayed and continues to display a deep personal loyalty to his mentor and leader Dr. Jonathan. This is not merely commendable but it is a reflection of the Governor’s profound adherence to the intrinsic principles of Ijaw culture and upbringing. He has never failed to advocate the retention of the traditional values of respect for those in authority and the elders of the community.

Many people in the state have grown increasingly enamoured of his attachment to the traditional values of the grassroots communities and that is why they call him the “contriman Governor”.

Greater dedication

In facing the task that he was given when he became Governor he has shown a greater dedication to serving the people than to building his own image as a politician.

This has led some people to portray him as being less generous than some of his predecessors in dispensing patronage with the resources of the state. The average Bayelsan citizen understands this dilemma very well and the extraordinary volume of infrastructural development that he has put in place and is continuing to put in place in spite of economic odds has convinced them of his commitment to the people’s true interests.

Governor Dickson is running for a second term on his record of performance rather than on his political connections but at the same time the fact that he has shown his determination to remain loyal to his mentor is regarded as an additional reason to grant him a chance to complete his mandate, especially when compared to the opportunist behaviour of those who in opposing him have jumped ship after gaining so much from the party that they have abandoned.

What has been the effect of the defections on the performance of the party in Government since it is widely acknowledged that many of the most effective members are among those who have as you put it “jumped ship”?

There have been no changes in the Dickson Agenda because of the defections. The defectors have been shown up as being much less effective than they claimed to be. It is the nationwide downturn in the economy that has slowed down some project delivery schedules, but no major initiative has been halted and key projects such as the development of infrastructure in education, roads and health have been completed or are nearing completion.

The Governor and his team have identified the provision of employment for the young people of the state as a key objective for the immediate future.

It is in order to implement this that Governor Dickson has set parameters for programmes that will be pursued in a second tenure. Bayelsa has suffered enormously from the truncation of the administrations of previous governors and this is one trend that needs to be reversed. It is for this reason above all else that we have remained in the PDP to ensure relevance and continuity and to build a legacy of development and service that is based on the kind of pride and self-determination that has characterised the growth of our state under the PDP.

Those who have abandoned the party’s cause because it has lost power at the centre have not understood the dynamics of democratic competition. They have failed to realise that the contest is about issues not personalities.