2023 Election: How voters rejected godfathers, power brokers in Bayelsa

WHILE political godsons outsmarted their godfathers at Cross River, Delta, and Akwa Ibom States in the South-South region, in the just concluded elections, one state, Bayelsa, came out strange to both sides, signalling a new dawn in the riverine state.

Normally, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, the governor, Senator Douye Diri, and ex-governor, Senator Seriake Dickson are the prominent power brokers in the state, where the former president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, does not play enveloping politics.

They dictated the tempo of politics in the state. However, they could not exercise such power in the February 25 and March 18 presidential/National Assembly polls, and state House of Assembly elections. In fact, the outcome of the 2023 general elections in the predominantly riverine state has shown that godfathers and power brokers are gradually waning.

This partly explained the reason many of the incumbent lawmakers at the state and National Assembly polls lost woefully in their return bid.

Prior to the general elections, many had thought the power of incumbency and godfathers would shape the voting pattern at the polls, but grassroots campaigns and the willpower of the electorate have turned out to be a deciding factor.

The plethora of upsets recorded in the East senatorial district and some constituencies in the Central senatorial districts of Chief Sylva, who is also the leader of the APC in the state, and Governor Douye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, respectively, showed the new inclination.

Sylva loses grip in APC strongholds

In the National Assembly poll, Sylva’s APC lost its grip on the East senatorial seat to the PDP, as well as the Nembe-Brass federal constituency to the PDP hurricane, just as the latter also kept its Ogbia federal constituency, making it a clean sweep for the ruling party in the Bayelsa East NASS seats.

Sylva’s APC also surrendered the Nembe-Brass federal constituency, which incidentally is his federal constituency to the PDP, an outcome that came as a bombshell to many.

In the West senatorial district, the PDP further entrenched itself as the party to beat, as its candidates, Senator Seriake Dickson and Fred Agbedi brushed aside their challengers, while in the Central senatorial district where Governor Diri hails from, the PDP again clinched the Senate and House of Representatives seats.

Voters outwit godfathers, favour APGA

Astonishingly, in the House of Assembly polls, the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, with no structure, and the required war chest to confront the ruling PDP, and the major opposition APC, secured two seats in the state House of Assembly in what political analysts termed as the will power of the people, while APC won four with PDP winning 17.
The people displayed their power in the Nembe constituency I, where the APGA candidate, Otiegbanyo Barah, dramatically truncated the return bid of Ebi Ben-Ololo of PDP, who was gunning for a third term.

The people of the constituency, Saturday Vanguard learned, were not to support Ben-Ololo’s third term ambition even before they conducted the party primary, but he had his way through the backings of the authorities in the ruling party. This decision, however, turned out to be a costly mistake for the party as the people revolted by pitching their tent with the APGA candidate who won the poll.

Also, in Yenagoa constituency II, a hitherto PDP stronghold in the Central senatorial district, the people again showed their anger over the choice of the incumbent Mrs. Ebiuwou Koku-Obiyai, that ran for a third term by throwing their weight behind Waikumo Amakoromo of APGA, who they returned as the member-elect for their constituency.

Mrs. Koku-Obiyai, a former Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, chairperson cut her teeth in the political landscape of the state with the support of former Governor Dickson and enjoyed two tenures, but the APGA candidate punctuated her third term attempt.

At the time of this report, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared the result for the Southern Ijaw federal constituency inconclusive with a rerun date not fixed, while that of Ogbia constituency II is also pending.

How Dafinone overpowered Amori notwithstanding Ibori

In Delta state, tongues have continued to wag over how Chief Ighoyota Amori, a political ally of a former governor of the state, and PDP godfather, Chief James Ibori, lost the Delta Central senatorial district election to Chief David Dafinone, the senator-elect for the district on the platform of APC. Whereas, Ibori’s daughter, Hon Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, won the House of Representatives seat for the Ethiope federal constituency, in the same senatorial district.

Both Ibori and Amori are from Ethiope–West local government area and Ibori campaigned for Amori to occupy the seat, but despite his pact with the APC governorship candidate, Senator Omo-Agege, the deputy senate president opposed his plan to install Amori.
Omo-Agege cut short Amori’s stay in the Senate after the 2015 elections when he got the judiciary to annul his victory and proclaimed him the winner. In the 2019 senatorial elections, DSP faced a different PDP candidate, Hon Mrs Evelyn Oboro, who also lost.
However, in 2023, Omo-Agege, also a political son of Ibori, anointed Dafinone, the scion of the famous and late Chief David Dafinone, OFR, dynasty in Sapele, Sapele local government area, to take over from him, and they did everything to stop Amori, again. The late Dafinone was a Nigerian politician and accountant.

A source told Saturday Vanguard that while Ibori relied on his past influence to enthrone Amori, the senator-elect, who has run the Dafinone Foundation for the past 17 years through which he had empowered over 4,000 persons in the district in welding, tailoring, hairdressing, and catering among others, put his hope on his good works and power of the voters.

Another factor that swayed the voters was his response to the victims of last year’s flood disaster, especially in Ughelli North and South local government areas, and other flood-affected communities.