The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bayelsa State, High Chief (Hon.) Alabh George Turnah, MON, has firmly challenged the claim by the State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Warman Weri Ogoriba, that the APC possesses sufficient structures, organisation and grassroots support to deliver President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Bayelsa State in 2027 without the contribution of the Rainbow Coalition.
Turnah described the APC chairman’s dismissal of the Rainbow Coalition as a political assertion that must be measured against the actual voting record of Bayelsans and the present political realities in the state, rather than treated as an established electoral fact.
“The reality is that the Bayelsa APC, under Governor Douye Diri’s leadership, cannot afford to dismiss the significance of the Rainbow Coalition or the political value of the PDP without confronting the facts on the ground, ” he said.
According to him, the attempt to project the APC as capable of delivering Bayelsa to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu without the contribution of the political forces assembled under the Rainbow Coalition is, at best, an overstatement of its present political reach.
Turnah maintained that the 2027 contest will not be won by press statements, boasts about structures or claims of grassroots strength but by the ability to build broad-based political support across communities, wards, local government areas and the wider electorate.
Turnah, who recalled the voting pattern in the 2023 election, which nearly gave victory to Peter Obi in the state, stressed that Obu’s chances are brighter in Bayelsa with the NDC and only a support base, which the Rainbow Coalition can help the APC win the election.
‘’Mr. Peter Obi is now the Presidential Candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), a party founded by Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, a former Governor of Bayelsa State and a major political figure and heavyweight in the politics of the State. With this development, Peter Obi stands a better chance than he had in 2023 to easily win Bayelsa State, even with large margins, if the PDP and the structures of the Rainbow Coalition are not fully mobilised to back up the APC in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This is the reality on the ground, not the political grandstanding coming from the Diri-led APC in the State.
“It should also be noted that the defection of Governor Douye Diri into the APC and his successful hijack and takeover of the APC structure has left thousands of legacy APC members in the State disgruntled. This situation has been made worse by the defection from the APC of a former Governor of the State, Chief Timipre Sylva, who was a founding member and leader of the APC in Bayelsa State.
The fact on the ground is therefore obvious: the current APC in Bayelsa State under Governor Diri cannot deliver the State to President Tinubu except and unless the PDP and the Rainbow Coalition mobilise their structures in the State to support the APC and back the re-election of President Tinubu.
“This is why the support of the PDP and the Rainbow Coalition is not a peripheral matter; it is central and indispensable if President Tinubu is to win Bayelsa State.
It is therefore political immaturity for Governor Diri and the Bayelsa APC to antagonise or attempt to dismiss the PDP and the Rainbow Coalition structures in the State. Perhaps they are not sincere about their acclaimed support for the re-election of President Tinubu.
“The Rainbow Coalition birthed by the FCT Minister and National Leader of the PDP, His Excellency Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, brings together political interests and networks that cannot simply be wished away, while the PDP remains a major political platform with a deep-rooted presence in Bayelsa State. Therefore, rather than dismissing the Rainbow Coalition, the Bayelsa APC should recognise that its relevance and the support of the PDP could be central to any serious effort to secure a broad political coalition for Tinubu in the State.’’
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