Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has come under attack over alleged exclusion of sections of the State from key political appointments and party positions.
Bayelsa Rescue Mission (BRM), a political group, in a statement on Monday, signed by Kalas Agai Nimitenbofa, its Publicity Secretary, described the development, as a dangerous precedence.
The statement urged Diri to urgently address what it described, as a disturbing pattern of political exclusion of the people of Bayelsa East Senatorial District and significant sections of Yenagoa Local Government Area, from key positions of political influence within the State administration and the leadership structure of the ruling political party.
Bayelsa East Senatorial District is made up of Brass, Ogbia and Nembe local government areas, which BRM said make huge contributions to the economic well-being of the state and are, therefore, too critical to be politically neglected.
‘This is not a demand for political patronage. It is a demand for fairness, inclusion, equity and a sense of belonging for every Bayelsan,’ the group said.
BRM said that Bayelsa belonged to all Bayelsans and no senatorial district, local government area, community or group should be made to feel that it has been excluded from the affairs of the state or denied a meaningful place at the table where decisions affecting their future are made.
It said, ‘The people of Brass, Nembe and Ogbia Local Government Areas, which constitute Bayelsa East Senatorial District, as well as the people of Epie/Atissa, Okordia, Biseni, Zarama and Gbarain/Ekpetiama in Yenagoa Local Government Area, have legitimate reasons to question their level of representation in the strategic political architecture of the State.
‘We are particularly concerned about the concentration of critical political responsibilities within particular Senatorial Districts and Local Government Areas. Government is not the private preserve of any individual, family, political tendency or geographical bloc. It is a common institution established for the benefit of all citizens.’
According to BRM, ‘When key appointments and political positions continue to cluster around particular areas, while other sections of the state are consistently denied representation in strategic positions, it creates a dangerous perception of exclusion and weakens confidence in the principle of equal citizenship.’
The group noted that whenever Diri wants to take a major political decision, ‘he consults with the inner circle which includes himself as Governor from Kolokuma/Opokuma, his Deputy Governor from Sagbama, his Secretary to State Government from Southern Ijaw, his Chief of Staff from his own Kolokuma/Opokuma, the Chairman of the ruling Party again from his Kolokuma/Opokuma, then the State Secretary of the ruling Party from Ekeremor LGA.
‘On this highest political consultation and decision making table, there are no seats for the people of Brass, Nembe, Ogbia and Yenagoa Local Government Areas. This is the sad reality on ground under the watch of Governor Douye Diri. This is nepotism taking too far and clear practice and an unfortunate promotion of the much talked about Core and non core Ijaw sentiment in Bayelsa State.’
The statement said that the present political arrangement is different from Diri’s first tenure when there was a measure of political balance and representation in appointments, and now echoes the sentiment of ‘core Ijaw and non-core Ijaw.’