Solution to PDP’s problems not by joining APC — Senator Dickson

Immediate past Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa West), has argued that the solution to the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not for members to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to him, in a democracy, there must be opposition—the type the PDP is capable of leading in the current dispensation.

Dickson, who was reacting on Wednesday to the gale of defections hitting the once ‘largest party in Africa’, said party leaders must remain in the PDP to solve its problems because they were created by the leaders in the first place.

He noted, “We all know the PDP has issues, but those issues should be solved by its leaders. They are the ones who created them.

“I remain standing in the PDP, the party that gave my people and the Niger Delta the opportunity to produce a Vice-President, an Acting President, and a President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This other party cannot do that.

“If, however, we do not succeed in saving the PDP, then we will be part of a collective decision; but that should not be to join the ruling party.

“I believe there must always be opposition. A democracy without opposition ceases to be democracy; it becomes dictatorship and totalitarianism.”

His comments come as the national headquarters of the party maintains silence over the latest defection of Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri.

Findings by Nigerian Tribune showed that although the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party convened a meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, the body made no official reaction to the development.

Attempts by the newspaper to get the comments of the National Publicity Secretary, Honourable Debo Ologunagba, did not yield results, although the NWC has consistently said it would not stop any governor from leaving since the PDP is “about the people and not individuals.”

Governor Diri defected barely 24 hours after the Enugu State Governor, Mr Peter Mbah, also dumped the party on Tuesday.

Incidentally, both governors played key roles in events leading to the 15 November Ibadan National Convention of the party.

While Diri chaired the committee which recommended the zoning of the party’s 2027 presidential ticket to the South, Mbah was the Secretary of the National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC).

Speaking specifically on the defection of his successor on Wednesday, Senator Dickson admitted that although the governor consulted him on the matter several times, he was not convinced that the defection was necessary for a second-term governor.

Dickson also spoke on how he chose to lie low after leaving office by not trying to be a godfather or interfere with the decisions of the governor.

“Since I left office, unlike others, I have not played godfather. I made no requests, no demands, no pressure. I have only been available for consultation and advice.

“In this case, the governor consulted me several times, to his credit. I was not convinced because I saw no compelling reason for a second-term governor to defect,” he added.

Dickson discountenanced the impression that being in the opposition meant fighting the government in power all the time, even when it took the right decision.

On that score, the former governor declared his support for President Bola Tinubu’s decision to appoint Professor Joash Omupitan as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Dickson, a member of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, told Senate correspondents that having done his personal investigations, he was impressed by the academic credentials and rank of Omupitan in the legal profession and his ability to deliver credible polls.

“I believe that a Professor of Law and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, conscious of his standing in the academic and legal community, will have something to work for.

“With everyone’s support, he should be able to introduce the reforms we need in our electoral system and within INEC itself. He should understand that elections are not just about cooking up figures and telling people to go to court.

“A person of his calibre should understand that beyond the judgment of men and of the courts, there is also the judgment of God and of posterity. I believe he will do things differently. That is why I will be supporting his nomination,” he added.