Stakeholders of Southern Ijaw Constituency 3 in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly have insisted that the age long zoning arrangement in the constituency must not be altered as the All Progressives Congress (APC) gets set for its state assembly primary election this Wednesday.
Some aggrieved stakeholders of the constituency who addressed journalists in Yenagoa ahead of the exercise said SILGA constituency 3 has three political blocks namely: Bomo West, Bomo Central and Bomo East.
Elder Dominic Bafamodei from Bomo Central, Mr. James Aluu, Bomo East and Paul Oputu from Bomo West in a letter addressed to former Political Adviser to the immediate past governor of the State, Chief Fyneman Wilson said the zoning had fared since the return of democracy in 1999 amongst the three blocks.
They recounted that in 1999, the first state house of assembly election in SILGA constituency 3 was zoned to Bomo West with Adolphus Ofongo emerging as the representative and served between 1999 and 2007.
According to them, after Ofongo’s eight years tenure, Mr. Delight Igali (now late) from Bomo East took the baton of representation for one tenure of four years, adding that Delight Igali was to return to the Legislative House but was stopped due to his political rift with the then governor, Chief Timipre Sylva and was replaced by his brother, Baraladei Daniel Igali who also did four years to complete the eight years for Bomo East.
They narrated further that Igali was supposed to honourably bow out after completing the Bomo East’s eight years but some political bigwigs were able to manoeuvre and made him to do eight years, making it 12 -years for the Bomo East.
After doing eight years, the aggrieved persons recalled that Igali wanted to continue but stakeholders of the constituency stopped him for the sake of equity and fairnes and zoned the seat to Bomo Central, paving ways for incumbent Moses Marlon who was elected from Bomo Central.
The zoning proponents reasoned that now that Moses Marlon is serving out his eight years, the zoning train of SILGA constituency 3 seat should return to Bomo West, stating that no body from the other two political blocks of Bomo Central and Bomo East should contest for the sake of peace, equity and fairness.
Diepreye Maxwell and David Canus made available a document signed by Bomo Ibe Mandate Forum and addressed to the then Special Adviser to the then governor, Seriake Dickson, Chief Fyneman Wilson dated June 14, 2018, another document issued by SILGA Restoration Team dated October 23, 2014 and addressed to the then governor, Seriake Dickson, all pointing to the standing zoning arrangement and why it should be respected to the latter.
They called on Governor Douye Diri not to be influenced by self-centered politicians in the corridors of power who they described as anti people agents, whose political interest is detrimental to the progress of SILGA constituency 3 (Bomo Clan), stating that any decision taking against the popular will of the people will be resisted through the ballot.
