With free, fair election, APC can’t win councillorhip candidate in Bayelsa —Douye Diri

Candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the November 2019 governorship election, in Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri has declared that with a level playing field, his party will easily win the contest.

He therefore urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), military and other security agencies to ensure fairness in the conduct of the poll.

Douye who spoke with journalists in Abuja said he was already speaking with the 20 other aspirants who contested the primaries with him with view to smoothening the relationship.

“If we have a free, fair, transparent election, the APC cannot win a chancellorship seat in Bayelsa State.

“It is all this hype about federal might, this hype about using security agencies to intimidate opponents or using INEC to write results.

“That is the propaganda we have been receiving. Our appeal here is that security agencies must be professional. INEC must be an unbiased umpire.

“And if there is that level playing field for us, I assure you that the opponents are neither here nor there to contest this election with the PDP”, he declared.

According to him, education, economy and security will form the major focus of his administration if he was elected governor of the oil rich state.

“When we took over in 2012, the policy thrust was on education. There was a lacuna in our educational sector and so the governor declared a state of emergency on our educational sector.

“To a large extent, he has ameliorated most of the gaps that was there. Bayelsa was on the thirty something position in national examinations but today, Bayelsa is among the first five or at worst, top 10 in all national examinations.

“I will continue with it and ensure that we move higher. If we are presently among the first five, we should be the number one or second.

“My second policy thrust will be the economy. For those of us who are from that place, who grew up in old River State and Bayelsa State, our local economy is neither here nor there.

“The sitting governor has tried to exploit our comparative advantage in agriculture and trade but I want to have a local economy where our people will be directly involved.

“Today, the number of Bayelsans involved in the economy is negligible. We will also work on security.

“No government can thrive and do well without adequate security. We have seen how the Federal Government is battling with insecurity”, the former Executive Private Secretary to Governor Siriake Dickson stated.

While dispelling rumours that his candidacy was not acceptable to majority of party members in the state, Douye said he consulted widely and secured blessing of party leaders in the state before he obtained the nomination forms.

The former Commissioner for Youth under Governor Goodluck Jonathan noted that it was his “humility, my honesty and my principles that Governor Dickson recognised and he felt that this person will be a candidate that will serve our people well.”

By reading his curriculum vitae, the PDP candidate believed anybody would realise that he was a man of principles that cannot be manipulated after he would have become the governor.

He explained that for the five years that Mr. Timpriye Silver was governor, he was on self-exile from the state.

“I choose my friends and I choose those I want to work with. I chose to work with Governor Dickson, I worked with him and I feel satisfied working with him.”