Supporters of First Lady Patience Jonathan in Bayelsa State are weighing the option of impeaching Governor Seriake Dickson before the May 29 handover date.
The governor and Mrs. Jonathan’s supporters are locked in a bitter rivalry, which prompted her camp to sponsor candidates on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) against those of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state in the last elections.
Their original plan was to field from their rank a candidate against Seriake in next year’s governorship election in the state but with President Goodluck Jonathan leaving office on May 29 after his defeat in the April 11 poll, the Patience Jonathan camp feels there is no point waiting for the governor’s current tenure to expire next year before sacking him.
In the camp are Abuja-based politicians from the state, two serving senators, aggrieved members of the state House of Assembly and a faction of the state’s leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
It was gathered yesterday that they have been holding meeting upon meeting to perfect their Seriake-must-go campaign.
Sources close to the group said that the Jonathan’s defeat initially slowed down the campaign but has been revved up in the last few days. Some of the governors allegedly recruited by First Lady’s camp to move against Dickson were said to have backed down following Jonathan’s defeat.
It was at that point the group decided to make use of as many members of the State Assembly as possible in actualising the plot.
But they have to contend with Speaker of the House, Kombowei Benson, who is said to enjoy a good rapport with the governor.
A pressure group, Niger Delta Solidarity Front (NDSF), claimed last week that 1000 thugs had been recruited to take to Yenagoa streets demanding Seriake’s ouster.
But the general secretary of the group, Mr. Nelson Ebebi,has vowed that the plan will fail.
The NDSF, he said, would “mobilise its members across the entire region and resist any planned street protests in Bayelsa State.”
Ebebi said that 1000 thugs had been instructed to disguise as unemployed youths to demand economic empowerment from the Dickson-led government through their protest.
“The thugs would create crisis within the state capital and they have been instructed to resist any attempt by the security agencies to try to dislodge them, as was done in the recent protest organised by some ex-militants,” he said.
“To show how serious and calculated their devilish plot is, they have branded the theme of the street protest as #WeAreHungryBringBackOurJobs street walk campaign.
“This is to give the impression that the Dickson-led government has failed in its duty to provide employment opportunities to the teeming youths in Bayelsa State.”
He urged the authorities to take proactive steps to investigate and go after those behind the evil plot and bring them to justice.
He warned youths in the region, particularly Bayelsa, not to allow themselves to be used by “power drunk, self seeking and desperate politicians”.
“There is no state in the country today that is not confronted with the harsh economic situation. The situation is so bad that most states cannot afford to pay staff salaries to their workers running into several months.
“Even the federal government is not immune to this harsh economic reality. Hence, the so-called #WeAreHungryBringBackOurJobs street walk campaign in Bayelsa is nothing but a politically motivated, devious and malicious propaganda that is intended to serve the sole selfish political interest of its paymasters.”
However, Dickson dismissed the impeachment plot as a rumour.
Reacting to The Nation’s enquiry through his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, the governor said: “People are peddling rumour but as a government we will not join issues with them.
“We are determined to continue offering purposeful leadership and remain focused on the restoration agenda of the government”.
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