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Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
A former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and frontline governorship aspirant of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has allayed fears that he would decamp from the party, if he fails to clinch the governorship ticket.
His critics had said Alaibe could not be trusted as he is not a loyal PDP member, adding that he is already planning to defect to another party if he fails at the primaries.
However, Alaibe in direct response to his critics, expressed optimism that he would win the party ticket and vowed not to leave the party in case he fails to get the ticket in September.
Alaibe, who was fielding questions in Yenagoa, during a visit to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), explained that his defections in the past were due to the exigencies of the time, stressing that having finally returned to the PDP, he was optimistic that he would get the party’s ticket to run for the November 16 poll.
“I have spoken severally on it (defection) and I hope you read it up. There is not going to be any crisscrossing again; it was the exigencies caused that at that time. You can look for the grammar to support that.
“You saw me take the forms, you will soon see me submit them and we are running on PDP ticket. We will unveil very shortly our programmes and the details of our strategic plan for Bayelsa State,” he said.
He lauded Governor Seriake Dickson for the infrastructural strides in the state and promised to complete ongoing projects if elected.
“In terms of infrastructure, Governor Dickson has invested in some critical projects; let’s not make any mistake about that. He’s still doing some. He won’t complete some. We will complete them and we will address the core issue of the economy. That’s my strength,” he added.
On his plans for the state, he bemoaned the level of insecurity highlighted by the kidnap of the mother of former Nigerian football coach, Samson Siasia, and promised to tackle it headlong by taking the majority of the youths in the state off the streets and rehabilitating those who are into drugs and cultism.
“If we do not address the violence perpetrated by some youths, no company will come to invest here. Only a few days ago, the mother of our former coach, world-class player of yore, was kidnapped for the second time.
“What does that tell you? It tells you that we need to address that sector. It’s not good news and it’s hoisted in the international space in the analysis of the risk of doing business in the state.
“We need to re-image our state and rebrand our state. These people doing these things are our children. So, we are going to be a government that is responsible. We will enumerate our youths and know what they are doing.”
