By Kola Oredipe
History has been made in Bayelsa State’s political space with the huge success recorded in the ongoing process to select candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general election.
The power of the people was at play with the good guidance of the leader of the party and the Governor of the State, Senator Douye Diri.
While the process looked seamless and generally peaceful, so much work, energy, sacrifice, extensive consultations, and compromises have gone into the successful APC primaries in the State.
Governor Diri, has demonstrated courage in guiding every phase of the primaries including interfacing with the party leadership and key stakeholders.
Making decisions is a daily scenario for any leader, and Senator Diri has deployed tact and wisdom, extracting compromises from many of the aspirants even when it was not convenient. He has shown genuineness, fairness, and great understanding throughout the process so far.
A good decision is based on knowledge and experience and that is what you get from Senator Diri, who himself has participated in several primaries and contested different elections.
The popular saying that, “in any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing”, is after all applicable here because the Governor is expected to get it right and that was exactly what he did across the constituencies.
From the directive to the stakeholders and leaders at every constituency to screen every aspirant to ascertain their eligibility and electability including vetting their credentials, Governor Diri, simply opened up the primaries to all interested party members. He directed various screening committees to recommend the top three aspirants to him and this reduced the tension across the constituencies.
Interestingly, leading with a human face, he protected and guided many aspirants against unnecessary spending and purchase of nomination forms when the aspiration appears unrealistic.
Quietly and without any noise, Diri, has recorded 100 percent success guiding the primaries through with constant consultation with other key party leaders across the state on the choices of the candidates.
Apart from the directive that all first-time lawmakers be returned for another term, the bulk of the candidates are products of serious engagements, political considerations and compromise. He approved the recommendations of many leaders and stakeholders on choices of candidates in their constituencies. The consultation was wide and Senator Diri, clearly avoided imposition of candidates on the people. Where existing zoning arrangements became an issue, and some aspirants failed to agree to the consensus put forward, Governor Diri, directed a transparent election across the wards, returning the powers to the people to make their choice.
From the House of Representatives primaries to the Senatorial primaries and the State House of Assembly primaries, Governor Diri, has guided a process that has become a model for party primaries.
The Bayelsa APC Primaries have remained largely peaceful throwing up great and acceptable candidates in different constituencies. Yet, Senator Diri, will not allow anyone to ascribe the success to him alone. That is leadership.
Working closely with his Deputy Governor, Dr. Peter Akpe, another grassroots politician and other key party leaders, everyone played a role in the collective good of the process. As a listening leader, he appreciates the power of team work. For him, this is a product of collective success, political maturity and huge compromise by many stakeholders. That is politics; a game of give and take, where individual interests are subsumed for the overall interest of members.
Indeed, Governor Diri, has again demonstrated he is a strategic planner, calculative politician and merits-driven man in the various choices of the Bayelsa APC candidates.
As party members gather tomorrow, Saturday, to participate in the Presidential primaries to hand the ticket of continuity to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Diri, is upbeat about a massive turnout and participation across the 105 wards.
The exercise would be an endorsement of a great friend of Bayelsa State to fly the flag of APC. President Tinubu, has shown that support to Bayelsa State and the election on Saturday will be a reciprocal support.
Bayelsa APC has over the months remained strong and has become the party of choice at every level. By keeping every one together and with his amiable personality, Governor Diri, has kept the party in pole position to win every available seat in the 2027 general election in the State. This positive trajectory is a reality!
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