The Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr Seriake Dickson, has said leaders of the All Progressives Congress are using the image of former President Goodluck Jonathan to give legitimacy to the alleged electoral fraud the party committed during the just-concluded governorship election in the state.
In his words; “Like Pontius Pilate, they are preparing the window by which they will wash their hands strategically, and put it at his (Jonathan) doorstep; that he endorsed, sanctioned (and) legitimised it. That’s the game they are playing,” he added.
Dickson, who stated this during a press conference in Yenagoa on Tuesday, said the move was a strategy designed by the APC leaders to justify the irregularities and the takeover of Bayelsa “by force.”
Dickson also said the APC leaders were aware that Jonathan did not contribute to their manipulation of the electoral process to gain the upper hand against the PDP but are just trying to cause a rift between him and his boss (Jonathan).
“Jonathan remains my oga and I respect him, but there are lots of efforts by certain interest to create a rift between us, there is no politician that has been there for the former president than me,” he said.
“He has also helped me but it is unfortunate that I am being misconstrued in this matter of the election. I tried to meet Jonathan 16 times and he opted to support a candidate that does not wish me well.
“I will soon write my memoirs and people will have a fair view of what happened, the visit of some APC governors to Jonathan who congratulated the APC candidate without congratulating the candidate of his party.
On the election, Dickson described “what happened on Saturday” as undemocratic, maintaining that Douye Diri, candidate of the PDP in the election, defeated his APC opponent.
Dickson, who stated that he had “implicit confidence” in the judiciary to deliver justice on the pre-election related cases filed before it, called on the people to show restraint and not resort to violence.
Meanwhile, the PDP, on Tuesday, disowned a report that Jonathan risked suspension over the party’s defeat.
