Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State on Friday hit back at the All Progressives Congress National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole for saying that the APC would defeat Dickson’s Peoples Democratic party (PDP) in next month’s governorship election in the state.
WITHIN NIGERIA recalls that Adams Oshiomhole, flayed Bayelsa State governor, Hon Seriake Dickson, for using unsophisticated language against his party’s governorship candidate, David Lyon
Meanwhile Governor Dickson has replied the former labour leader,the governor claimed that Oshiomhole did not know the APC governorship candidate, David Lyon, well enough before describing him as the man to beat in the election .
Speaking to reporters in Ikeja after attending 3rd annual conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP),Seriake said: “My good friend Oshiomhole knows that the APC cannot win Bayelsa in a free and fair election.
“They can’t win any ward in Bayelsa. None. They have never won any election except intimidating people, manipulating electoral body. He knows that.
“He is my good friend. I disagree with his views. I believe he doesn’t know his candidate enough. But in the coming days and weeks, I believe he will get to know the person he has allowed to be the flag bearer.
“Since 2015, we have been dealing with extreme violence and abuse of power by the leadership of the party that has the centre. We expect that the elections would not be as violent as the previous ones.
“The people of Bayelsa can be trusted to vote for a candidate they believe has the experience, a candidate that they believe understands the issues, a candidate that will continue with the massive development that has come to stay in Bayelsa.”
Appreciating the GOCOP for inviting him to the even, Dickson said: “I am here to thank and appreciate you all for the god work you are doing in deepening our democracy. You cannot have democracy without a vibrant media. All of us who are running government especially in this era of social media, men, it is not easy.
“Just from the anonymity of the laptop, or even a cell phone, headlines are made and issues are raised and God help you if you are in a state like Bayelsa where the social media is one of the busiest. Everybody is commenting, criticizing. As inconvenient as this age of social media is clearly is, it is nevertheless indispensable to the sustenance, and developing and deepening of our democracy.
“For all of us that who administering government in this age and time, if you don’t have a thick skin, you better go and borrow one because that is the solution. The absence of vibrant media equates to the death of democracy. A new Nigeria is possible. We would talk about that next time.”
Oshiomhole had first berated the governor for using what he called unsophisticated language against David Lyon.
The governor was quoted as saying of Lyon:“We can’t imagine that after I have raised the bar this high then this militant, will attempt to take over Bayelsa State. What they have done is to outsource terrorism to the so-called candidate of the APC, Chief David Lyon, and I think in the next couple of days when you see some images you will be appalled.”