IT may serve to recall an incident in the
1980 American presidential election for a
good illustration of the battle ahead in the
November 11 governorship poll in Bay-
elsa State. In the final week of campaign
between the candidate of ruling Democratic
Party, President Jimmy Carter, and Republi-
can nominee, Ronald Reagan, they were put
on debate. In the course of the exercise, Rea-
gan posed what has become one of the most
important campaign questions of all time:
“Are you better off today than you were four
years ago?” Carter answered, “No”. And that
cost him re-election.
In the Bayelsa election, Governor Douye
Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
and Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives
Congress (APC) are the major candidates. If
Sylva throws a similar challenge as Reagan
put before Carter to Diri, it is not likely
that the response would be the same. The
APC candidate had governed the state for
five years, while Diri has been in office for
less than four years. Within the periods,
Bayelsans know the difference. Diri has a
brilliant performance profile he brandishes
in asking the voters in the state to return
him to Government House.
He believes his accomplishments in his
first tenure will speak for him. As a student
of Political Science, Diri knows that success
in politics depends largely on the results a
political office-holder is able to deliver. In
other words, performance is a key factor
that can infuse any elected leader with
genuine sense of self-confidence to seek a
renewal of his mandate, in a free and trans-
parent process.
That is why he insists on his work speak-
ing for him. The other day, Abubakar Saad
III, the Sultan of Sokoto, was in the state
to inaugurate the newly completed 10.2km
Glory Drive dual carriageway. The road,
which was started by the administration of
President Goodluck Jonathan when he was
governor, stretches from Onopa, in the heart
of Yenagoa, the capital city, through several
communities and terminates at Igbogene.
That is aside from over 50 internal roads
done by the state government.
He has also started work on the Nembe-
Brass road, which had been abandoned by
previous administrations in the state and
the federal government. Diri explained the
reasons behind the construction of the road
as being beyond political considerations but
about the economic benefits to the state and
the country. He said embarking on the proj-
ect, which is a federal road in the Bayelsa
East Senatorial District, was borne out of his
strong desire to create access to the Atlantic
Ocean in order to harness its abundant
natural resources. On completion, the road
will enhance the blue economy of the state.
“The Nembe-Brass road is not a politi-
cal project. It is the major project I have
brought to the people of Okpoama and
the Bayelsa East Senatorial District,” he
enthused. Sylva, incidentally, hails from that
zone.
But you will be getting it wrong if you
think that, for Diri, it is all about building
roads and bridges. He also gives consider-
ations to the human capital development of
the state, hence boosting small and medium
enterprises with N200,000 per two persons
in the 105 wards in the state, monthly. Add
that to the automatic payment of pension
and gratuity to retirees in the state, regular
payment of salary, youth empowerment,
development of New Yenagoa, and the improved security in the state. In educa-
tion, there is a policy to de-emphasize paper
qualification for science education, hence
the massive investment in science and
technological institutions. Perhaps, where
he has recorded the most impressive impact
is in shifting the youths in the state from
militancy to productivity.
“Looking at what we have done in just
three and a half years, our people say we
can’t go back to Egypt,” Diri said, in a clear
broadside to Sylva, recently. Indigenes
and non-indigenes of the state attest to
the governor’s scorecard of achievements.
Some weeks ago, the monarchs in the state
and leadership of the Christian community
openly agreed that he was on course and en-
dorsed him for another term. The Nigerian
Guild of Editors (NGE), in a rare outing,
equally admitted that Diri was doing well.
From Osun State came accolades by
Governor Ademola Adeleke that Diri was
performing well. Adeleke, who made the re-
marks at the inauguration of the Elebele AIT
road, on the outskirts of Yenagoa, tasked
Bayelsans not to change a winning and per-
forming team as represented by Governor
Douye Diri at the November 11 poll.
Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwo-
ri, made similar comments, in fact, describ-
ing Senator Diri as a true servant-leader
working for the development and trans-
formation of the state, hence deserving a second term. Oborevwori made the remarks
at the inauguration of Etegwe Bridge and
upgrade of Etegwe-Edepie-Tombia Round-
about and Agilobi Road, Yenagoa.
In Latin, the saying, Vox Populi, Vox
Dei (the voice of the people is the voice of
God) means much. That should count for
the governor on November 11. It is not for
nothing that he calls himself the Miracle
Governor. There is a hand of destiny in his
coming to office. He was already in court
challenging the declaration of David Lyon,
the APC candidate, as the winner of the
November 16, 2019, governorship election
in the state. Diri had the upper hand before
the election. But on the election day, which
was marked by high-scale irregularities,
Lyon was declared the winner. The shock
was unprecedented. Aside from Lyon not
being popular, the APC had no foothold in
Bayelsa.
But the victory song did not last. In fact,
three days to the election, there were some
developments that eventually turned the
tide against Lyon. A Federal High Court in
Abuja had on November 12, 2019, dis-
qualified his running mate, Biobarakuma
Degi-Eremienyo in the election for submit-
ting forged certificates to the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC).
APC had appealed the judgment at the
Appeal Court and received favourable judg-
ment. But the Supreme Court, on Thursday,
February 13, upturned the verdict of the
Appeal Court and upheld the judgment of
the Federal High Court.
The apex court nullified the election of
Lyon and Degi-Eremienyo, who were on the
Parade Ground preparing to be inaugurated
into office on Friday, February 14. Diri
counts the turn of events as a reason to
thank God and deliver service to Bayelsa.
Competing with Sylva, he knows, is not go-
ing to be a tea party. But he has run a good
race and kept the faith, expecting the voters
to reward him with another term.