Commercial activities in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital were temporarily shut down at the weekend as the immediate past President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan led other party chieftains to present Governor Seriake Dickson with the PDP governorship flag at a rally.
Addressing the mammoth crowd of supporters, Dr. Jonathan, who described Bayelsa as a stronghold of the PDP, affirmed that Governor Dickson had performed creditably and was qualified for a second term in office.
He called on Bayelsans, particularly the youths to secure their future by voting for the PDP in next Saturday’s governorship election, claiming that Dickson was the only candidate that could secure the future of the youths.
The former President, who described Dickson as a visionary leader, stressed the need for Bayelsans to reciprocate his good deeds in terms of provision of infrastructure and laying the foundation for investment and entrepreneurship to strive in the State.
“For the past 16 years, being a pioneer deputy Governor and a Governor at the State level, a vice-president and President of our Country, I am in a position to say that Dickson has tried and is still trying.
“You can see that within this short period, Dickson has been able to build a flyover and dualize a number of roads in Yenagoa. He has been able to build Toru-Ebeni Bridge.
“These are signs of development, in a town that is growing to be a city. We should all be concerned about what Bayelsa will be in the next 25 years and beyond, and not what we want to gain today.
“I have looked at his policies and programmes and I am convinced that he is visionary. He is preparing Bayelsa state for tomorrow. I am telling the young people that this election is not for Jonathan or Dickson.
“This election is for you. So, vote for your liberation. You vote to live in peace and a developed society,” Dr. Jonathan said.
The former president later commissioned the first ever flyover and the newly dualized Azikoro road in Yenagoa, shortly after the rally.
The Acting National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, while performing the official handing over of the party’s flag to Dickson, berated the Buhari led Federal Government for running the nation’s economy aground within six months in office.
He charged the people of Bayelsa to reject the All Progressives Congress, (APC) in the forthcoming election, saying that the PDP was aware of clandestine moves being made to rig the election.
Secondus called on the Bayelsa electorates to come out en masse to vote for the PDP and stand firm to defend their electoral rights.
Also, the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, described the APC federal government as clueless and lacking direction in managing the national economy.
He urged Bayelsans to remain resolute in their support for Dickson and the PDP, saying that a vote for the Governor would usher in more development, peace and stability in the state.
In his acceptance speech, Governor Dickson reiterated his commitment to peaceful poll, and stressed the need for the Federal government to do everything within its reach to ensure a free and fair election in the state.
He appreciated the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP and his teeming supporters within and outside the state, saying that the turnout at the event had further confirmed that the people of the state were standing with the PDP.
DAILY POST reports that dignitaries who attended the rally include: the Acting Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Haliru Bello, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State and Vice-Chairman, PDP, South-south, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh.
Others include Chief Olisah Metuh, serving and former National Assembly members, including, Senators Adolphus Wabara, Ibrahim Mantu, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, Hon. Leo Ogor, and a host of Nollywood stars.
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