Why Bayelsa PDP Chieftains’ Defected To APC – Seriake Dickson

Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State on Monday gave reasons for the defection of some politicians from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

The former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Mr. Nditimi Alaibe; suspended chairman of Bayelsa PDP, Col. Sam Inokoba, and former Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, were among prominent politicians in Bayelsa that defected to the APC at the weekend.

They were received by the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.

Speaking with journalists on the sideline of the 2015 National Security Summit organized by the Nigeria Police Force in conjunction with The Sun Publishing Limited in Abuja, the governor said the politicians’ defection was motivated by greed and selfishness.

According to Dickson, they are all aiming for the governorship ticket of the APC in order to contest the December 5 Bayelsa governorship poll.

Stressing that it was within their right to defect to a political party of their choice, the governor said for the records, it was important that the public know the true reason behind their defection to the APC.

He said: “They decamped because each one of them wants to be governor and the PDP platform is not available.
“So, they are going to the next alternative and which in the case of the APC, is the party that has control of the center and by so doing, positioning themselves for federal appointments, which the PDP and I are not in a position to give to them.

“And they are hoping somehow that federal might, by way of security and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) manipulation will see their eventual flagbearer get into the government house, which is not going to be the case”.

Claiming that he is firmly on ground in the state, the governor, who looks set to clinch the PDP ticket to contest for a second term in office, said his people are of the view that his administration has done well and will troop out en mass on election day to vote for him and the PDP.

“We know the antecedents of each and everyone of them and we are confident that the people are not with them”, he added.