I'm Not An Underdog In Bayelsa Guber Race Diri

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the forthcoming governorship election in Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, in this interview with Onwuka Nzeshi, speaks on his vision for the state

What are you doing to reconcile all those who contested for the PDP governorship ticket with you to ensure there is no rancour within the party as you go into the election in November?

We're trying our best. Even now, the process is still ongoing. We are calling them and moving to make peace with everyone. Were also talking to their friends and brothers to ensure that we all come back together as a party. But, youll agree with me that party politics in Nigeria has not been the way it is in other climes. That is why you see people crossing over to other parties with ease. Were not there yet, but I believe that we need to consolidate on what our party has achieved in our state. Weve gone beyond the issue of getting control of governance.

A political party has other functions, which it owes its members and these include educating members of the party and building cohesion among them. Here, we see the party as just an avenue to grab political power and thats why its really difficult when you come into a contest like this, somebody is already moving to a rival party just because he lost the ticket at the primary election. You see an aggrieved person moving into not just any other party, but the main rival party that will actually give you the fight of your life.

So, to answer your question directly, we are trying our best; were calling them and talking to them. Ive had discussions with a number of them and they have agreed that they are not going to any other party. They said they will sit back and work with the party to be sure that the PDP wins the governorship election in Bayelsa State. If I win the election, Im not winning as Douye Diri, but as a member of the PDP, the party that nominated me. So, it is the PDP that is actually winning at the election.

How are you going to manage the Timi Alaibe factor, knowing that he is apparently aggrieved about the outcome of the primary and given the fact that he is a formidable force?

I just told you that I was with him for about 10 years. I also want to let you know that Alaibe and I are from the same local government, so he is my brother. Thats why Im saying that we are not home and dry yet. Were still talking to ourselves. Were still approaching every contestant including him for us to see reason to come together. You know, politics is like marrying a wife or going to look for a wife to marry. Maybe its very easy these days, but in our own time, it could take you a whole year to woo a woman. So, were still in that process.

I still see him as a brother and I believe he too will see me as a brother. I dont believe that there is any one of us, including myself, that is indispensable. But I agree with you that Alaibe is a factor. He came into the race and did very well like every other contestant. Everyone of us was in that race to win. I dont think that anybody will like to throw away N21 million. If somebody comes in with N21 million and doesnt win the ticket, then be rest assured that maybe the odds were not in his or her favour.

Some people believe that even if Alaibe is pacified and doesnt defect, you also have the All Progressives Congress (APC) hurdle to scale

I want to correct an impression. Yes, we have a fight in front of us, but I dont see the other people as being so strong on the ground to fight the PDP. If we have a free, fair and transparent election, the APC cannot win a councillorship election in Bayelsa State. Thats the truth. Its all these hypes about federal might, using security agencies to intimidate people or using the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to write results.

What was the level of your consultations with key stakeholders like former President Goodluck Jonathan before you started this race?

The former president was my governor and I worked under him as a commissioner. So, that tells you the relationship that I have with him. I have a very cordial relationship with the former president and he was one of the key persons I consulted. I went to him in his house and he received me and took me to his wife because she was our mother at the time he was governor. So in a nutshell, I consulted him and he gave me his blessings. I also consulted very many other leaders before I finally joined the race.

There have been insinuations that Jonathan is more comfortable with Alaibe. Whats your view on that?

You see, politics is a game of interests. Until the man voted, you will not know who he is comfortable with among the contestants. Those speculations are part of the intrigues you find in political contests. The sitting governor said he had no candidate, but I saw in a post that if the governor had only one candidate to be adopted, it would be me. So, anybody can claim that the former president was with him, but it is only at the point of voting that you would know whether the former president is with you or not.

Given your closeness to the incumbent governor, how can you convince the electorate that you are a man of your own and not a stooge drafted to cover up the outgoing regime?

My track record shows who I am; what I stand for and why I even accepted to work with the current governor. Timipre Sylva was in power for five years and I didnt get into Bayelsa State throughout that period. It shows you that Im a man of principle. I choose my friends and those I want to work with and I chose to work with Governor Seriake Dickson and I am satisfied, working with him. Do you ask me why? There was a bill that was introduced to the State House of Assembly. It was called the Transparency Bill, which prescribed monthly transparency briefing, where you tell the people what comes into Bayelsa State and what is expended.

Now, because of my privileged position in the engine room of government, every month, when the federal allocation comes and the internal revenue comes to the table, Governor Dickson and I sit together in a committee to allocate what came into the state to the various Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government. The committee also includes the deputy governor, commissioner for Finance and all other finance-related officials. At that point, I knew that Governor Dickson was not taking anything out from what was coming into the state.

So, when people say I will be a stooge to cover up, I dont know what I want to cover up, having known that there has been a transparent process of resource allocation in the state. There is a lot of envy in Bayelsa politics and of course in Nigerian politics. But with what I saw and participated in, I dont think that there is anything for me to cover up. I just believe that it is out of my humility, honesty and principles that he recognised and felt that this candidate would be someone who will serve our people well.

What would be the policy thrust of your administration if elected as governor of Bayelsa State?

When we took over in 2012, the policy thrust was on education. There was a lacuna in our educational sector and the governor declared a state of emergency on education. I think that to a large extent, he has ameliorated the situation by filling most of the gaps that we discovered when we came into office. For instance, Bayelsa State ranked below 30 in all national examinations, when we came in, but today, we are among the top 10 states in those examinations. So that dream has been achieved to a level, but I will continue with it and ensure that we go higher. If we are among the first 10, I am thinking we should be among the top five. I know that is a very tall order when you have Imo, Lagos and other states, but we will try to improve on our current position.

Next will be the economy. For those of us who are from that place and grew up in the old Rivers State before the creation of Bayelsa State, you know that our local economy is neither here nor there. The sitting governor has tried to revive agriculture and focus on our areas of comparative advantage in the sector. I want to build a local economy in which our people will be directly involved.

I will also focus on security because no government can thrive without security of lives and property of the citizenry. We are seeing bits of it at the federal level. When the level of insecurity is so high, it is difficult for social development and real economic growth to take place.

One of your compatriots, Timi Frank recently said that your emergence as candidate of the PDP will pave way for the APC to grab the governorship seat. Is it true that youre not on ground in Bayelsa State?

I like when people underestimate me. Im very happy with it because it is out of that underestimation that I will spring surprises. When people say that my emergence will make the other party to win, they have not taken into cognizance that this is the same man who won two consecutive elections recently. I won election into the House of Representatives and subsequently to the Senate, yet you say that man is an underdog. Good, Im an underdog; I want to be an underdog.