Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has raised the alarm that Timi Alaibe, a former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission and a governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is blackmailing him to gain political advantage for the party’s ticket.
He also accused Alaibe of circulating a “cynically manipulated” version of addresses he (the governor) delivered during political meetings with the intent to smear him for assumed political benefits.
Dickson, in a statement by Fidelis Soriwei, his Special Adviser on Media Relations, said that Alaibe was resorting to blackmail out of desperation.
The Governor maintained that he regarded all the aspirants including Alaibe, as his brothers and friends and would not do anything to destroy any one of them.
He enjoined Alaibe to focus his attention on the Bayelsa people, especially the delegates who were empowered by law to decide who should be the governorship candidate of the PDP.
“It is curious that Alaibe would rather dissipate energy to the propagation of mischief rather than focusing attention on his gubernatorial campaigns.
“We wish to reiterate that the governor, as a major stakeholder in the issue of the governorship primaries, is entitled to his own political views and decisions. That does not preclude any politician with genuine interest from testing his popularity with the delegates.”
But the Timi Alaibe Campaign Organisation in a statement titled, ‘We are too focused to be distracted,’ said neither Alaibe nor any member of his campaign team was at the meeting mentioned by Dickson, adding that “such access can only be traced to the originators of the statement.”
The statement read in part, “Our focus is to conduct our campaign on issues that will lead to the development of Bayelsa State through a shared economic prosperity and not waste energy and time on commonplace matters.
“Our silence (to allegations) should not be misconstrued to mean timidity. It was basically and still a measure of respect we and our principal have for the person and office of the governor. Unfortunately, that respect has not been reciprocated.”
