President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday described
the former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, as his
political benefactor.
The President also called on the political class
in the state to put aside their grievances in the collective interest of the
state.
Alamieyeseigha was detained in London on charges
of money laundering in September 2005. He escaped from the UK in December 2005.
He pleaded guilty before a Nigerian court to six charges in
July, 2007, and was sentenced to two years in prison on each charge.
Jonathan spoke at the Government House Castle,
Yenagoa, while addressing leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party at a state
caucus meeting convened by Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State.
Though the relevance of the meeting to the 2015
ambition of Jonathan was not clear, a statement by Dickson’s Chief Press
Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, described it as “an expanded caucus
meeting of members of the party”.
The statement read, “President Jonathan who
stressed that politics ought to be seen as tools for the development of the
people and service to fatherland, said up until now, he could not fathom what
went wrong during the last expanded caucus meeting of the PDP in the state.
“Describing Chief Alamieyeseigha as his
benefactor in politics, the President called on the political class to learn to
be supportive of one another and put aside their grievances in the collective
interest of the state, rather than creating undue tension in the polity.”
Our correspondent gathered that part of the
meeting, which was held behind closed doors, was part of moves by the governor
to mobilise support for Jonathan and unite members of the party.
The statement, which was made available to our
correspondent shortly after the meeting, said members of the party resolved
unanimously that Jonathan should be the leader of the party in the state.
Before now, Dickson was regarded as the leader of
the party in the state by virtue of his position as the governor.
The statement said Dickson moved the motion that
Jonathan be made leader of the party in the state.
The motion was said to have been seconded by
Alamieyeseigha and later adopted by about 28 members of the party’s caucus
after a voice vote initiated by the Senator representing the state’s Central
Senatorial District, Mr. Emmanuel Paulker.
The statement was, however, silent on members of
the party, especially federal lawmakers, that attended the meeting.
Jonathan, who insisted that his former boss
brought him into political limelight, thanked Dickson for convening the meeting
and promised to attend subsequent meetings.
Jonathan described politics as a tool for the
development of the state.
The President denied influencing the selection of
candidates for the forthcoming local government elections.
“I don’t want to be in Abuja and be seen as
influencing political contestants; I will not condescend to get myself in the
selection of candidates, am not interested because it won’t be fair since
leadership is all about hierarchy,” he said.
Punch
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