Bayelsa Must Join APC at Centre to Speed up Devt, Says Party Chieftain

Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Prince Preye Aganaba, has condemned the ‘stagnant growth’ of the state led by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying the state must join the APC at the centre to speed up development.

Aganaba, who stated this in Yenagoa at the weekend, said the state Governor, Douye Diri, is confused and had shown absolute lack of ideology to position the state on the path of growth and development.

He said the state APC governorship candidate in the November 11 election, Chief Timipre Sylva, was the only hope of the state to align with the centre, and urged the people to take advantage of the opportunity.

The former governorship aspirant said Sylva possessed the capacity, experience and network to win the forthcoming poll and speed up the development of the state.

Aganaba commended Sylva, who was the immediate-past Minister of State for Petroleum, for attracting a federal tertiary institution to Nembe.

The APC dismissed the rumoured crisis in the party in state over ministerial appointments, describing it as the handiwork of naysayers.

He said: “Bayelsans know that they were richer between 1999 and 2015 when both the state and the centre were in the same party than between 2015 and 2019. That was why the people decided to align with the centre by voting David Lyon, but unfortunately the will was altered by the decision of the Supreme Court.

“Bayelsans desire to be part of the centre. We have an opportunity in this election to align with the centre. It is in our interest to do so in this forthcoming election by bringing APC to power in the state.”

Aganaba, who was the state coordinator of Tinubu/Shettima Independent Campaign Council (ICC),  hailed President Ahmed Bola Tinubu for removing the fuel subsidy, which he described as an albatross hindering the development of the country.

He urged the people to remain calm and patiently wait for the positive effects of the ongoing reforms and policies of the president.

Aganaba described the cases at the tribunal against Tinubu as a sheer waste of time, saying they would only end in social media hype as the plaintiffs lacked the evidence to prove their cases.

He said Tinubu with his recent appointment of the service chiefs had demonstrated equity, fairness and balancing, observing that service chiefs were appointed from different zones in the country.