Senate Seat: Dickson Battles To Stop Ex-Speaker
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There are fears that the immediate past governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri may be working hard to ensure victory for Mr Kombowei Benson, speaker of the state house of assembly during Dickson’s time and secretary to the state government under the present government. Benson is however said to have resigned to contest for the Bayelsa Central senate seat.
TNN gathered that the choice of who becomes the senatorial candidate for the Bayelsa Central Senatorial District is currently a source of serious concern.
The incumbent senator, Moses Cleopas and Benson, both of whom are from Southern Ijaw Local Government Area have since picked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) forms for the red chamber race.
The current governor is said to be pushing for Benson, while Dickson wants Cleopas to take the senatorial ticket of the PDP. We further gathered, is said to be acting on information before his disposal which implied that there are some unclear motives behind Dickson’s choice of Cleopas for a second term ahead of the 2023 governorship election in the state.
There are speculations that the former governor is allegedly preparing Cleopas for a possible replacement of Diri in 2024. As the battle for political supremacy rages, we gathered from a reliable Government House source that some aides of Diri may have taken steps to ensure that the plot did not work.
“His Excellency, the governor, has been very considerate with his predecessor, Senator Seriake Dickson over his request to field aspirants of his choice as against the governor’s preferences.
“It is said that respect is reciprocal. The governor’s magnanimity should not be seen as weakness. On the issue of Bayelsa Central, the governor has made up his mind on whom to support and he has his reasons.
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“I am telling you on good authority that whoever dares to go against the governor’s wish, especially on Bayelsa Central, may end up losing everything including the person’s political ambition, the source added.”
It could be recalled that, in the build up to the 2023 general elections, Dickson is said to have allegedly foisted many aspirants of his choice on the governor and the leadership of the PDP, a situation political observers consider as overbearing and dangerous to internal democracy.
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