…As Ikenya joins Taraba guber race
By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
Taraba State governorship aspirant in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator Joel Danlami Ikenya has thrown his support behind local government financial autonomy adding that he will do everything possible to strengthen that arm of government if he becomes the next Chief Executive of the state.
On the same note, Pastor Donald Daunemigha who is planning to unseat the former governor of Bayelsa State, Sen. Seriake Dickson as Senator representing Bayelsa West Senatorial Aspirant has disclosed that the divisive politics of the former governor made the party to lose the last governorship election to the candidate of the All Progressives Congress(APC).
Speaking with newsmen after picking his governorship Expression of Interest and Nomination forms on Thursday at the PDP Headquarters in Abuja, the governorship hopeful said that PDP is at home in Taraba state and that he has over the years acquired all the requisite knowledge and skills to enable him drive the state to prosperity if he occupies the driving seat.
“I have served at various levels and the experienced that I have gathered so far, I have exposed myself to a certain level that I know what is really the problem of my state and the problems of my people. I think with the credentials I have, my level of education and appointments, I think I’m more qualified to be governor in my state taking into cognizance, those that are running with me”.
The aspirants advanced for the autonomy of the third tier of government. “For me, local government should be independent. There are three tiers of government. I am for local government to remain strong. The provision of the law on the joint account had been the problem. And today the National Assembly have looked into it critically and they have agreed that local governments are independent. Giving me opportunity to be governor, my state will champion the autonomy of local government”.
The party said that the PDP needs a credible candidate that will win the state. “Some of us are out because we believe that we need credible people. We need somebody that is very familiar with the people, somebody that is very popular. We are looking at who can win the election. It’s not about somebody contesting, we are talking about who can win the election and that’s why we’re here and I have the capacity. I have all it takes to win the election”.
On the same note, The Bayelsa Senate aspirant said that the divisive policies of Dickson were responsible for the misfortune the party suffered in the state. He said that Dickson has not pushed any serious bill on the floor of the senate.
“The APC grew in leaps and bounds and that is because of the divisive style of governance of Dickson. The APC was really nowhere to be reckoned with, because we had a President from the PDP who is Goodluck Jonathan. We also had a governor that was supposed to put the party together, but the party fell apart because of the divisive politics of the former governor and serving senator.
“If you want to really get the facts, the fact was that the PDP lost that election due to the high handedness of Dickson. It was a referendum against Dickson, that is the truth.
The aspirant said that aside not making any contribution at the national assembly, Dickson earlier agreed to spend only two years to complete the tenure of the incoming Deputy governor due to zoning but expressed shock that he suddenly made a U-turn and jettisoned zoning even when his election as governor of the state was a product of zoning.
“It was Dickson that enforced zoning in the last elections. My own brother, former deputy governor flew the flag of the APC, we defeated him in his own ward. That was a testament to the fact that this zoning was respected. And so now that he has done two years, the video clip is there everywhere for everybody to see what he has said by himself. ‘No question about that, zoning is sacrosanct, I will do only two years of the immediate current deputy governor’, and so it is supposed to come to my local government.
“Few people from my local government are singing his praises and he decided that he has the power to do whatever he wants to do. And because of the fact that he knows fully well that if he goes to the polls, he will lose, he has been trying to see and make sure that nobody takes the form.
He has been trying to appeal that everybody in the PDP should be on his line which at this point in time in our democratic history, we have passed the stage where any one individual can think that you can decide for the people” he said.
