From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Former President Goodluck Jonathan is under fire over his declaration of support for the incumbent governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, who won re-election in the just concluded governorship election.
Jonathan during a visit to Diri in Government House Yenagoa expressed happiness that Diri won the election.
He had also disclosed that if Diri lost the election he would have relocated his mother from Bayelsa State.
However, criticism had trailed Jonathan’s comments with some Bayelsans suggesting that the former Nigerian leader should have remained non-partisan as a senior citizen of the state.
The deputy-governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Great Joshua Maclver in a personal statement signed by him expressed disappointment with Jonathan’s position.
According to him, Jonathan’s statement has not only demarketed Bayelsa, but also made many supporters of the APC and its governorship candidate, Timipre Sylva view Jonathan as a biased leader.
The statement read in part: ‘’It is with a deep sense of concern that I, Great Joshua MacIver, Deputy Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the November 11, 2023 governorship election in Bayelsa State, address the endorsement of Governor Douye Diri by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
‘’In a manner that departs from the expected statesmanship, I find it disheartening that Jonathan, in a state where his role should be fatherlike and non-partisan to all candidates, has chosen to endorse a specific individual, during a political season.
‘’Furthermore, I express my reservations regarding the former President’s statement about the planned relocation of his mother to Abuja had Governor Douye Diri lost the governorship election. This public speech, openly demarketing Bayelsa State as unsafe and insecure, is a sentiment that should not be voiced by someone of his stature.
‘’Sadly, Jonathan’s recent action has made him lose the respect of all true followers of the former Minister of State Petroleum Resources and APC Governorship Candidate in the last election, Chief Timipre Marlin Sylva.’’