A group of concerned Bayelsans under the auspices of the Bayelsans Arise for Good Governance (BAGG), has appealed to the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, to contest the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
BAGG on Saturday said Lokpobiri, a former Speaker of Bayelsa State House of Assembly, a two-time Senator and a current minister, was qualified to vie for the position.
The group in a statement at the weekend by its spokesman, Sufadoh Boloyi Sufadoh said the minister, with his antecedents and political pedigree, was better positioned to promote good governance and deliver on democracy dividends in the state.
Sufodoh described Lokpobiri as a grassroots politician with knack for excellence and sincere service to the state.
Sufadoh said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at the centre needed a very strong standard bearer, rational and decisive enough to check the alleged excesses of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
He said: “The battle is not for the faint-hearted or the lilly-livered, neither is it for the clueless without a sincere desire to change the status quo and install purposeful leadership for the people of the oil-rich state.
“The state needs a strong-willed governor with vast political experience and track record of service to his people at the state and federal levels, one with robust supporters who move at his direction.
“Lokpobiri was the person who moved the motion in the Senate that saw to the release of N600bn owed the Niger Delta Development Commission by the Federal Government.
“As the Chairman of Senate Committee on Water Resources in his second legislative journey at the National Assembly, through that portfolio, he was able to lobby and attract various water projects to Bayelsa.
“We are motivated to root for Lokpobiri because of his avowed commitment and determination to tame the tide of the dreaded and cancerous menace of corruption that has eaten deep into the state’s civil service and local government administration.
“At this crucial point of our state’s history, we cannot bargain to take a gamble electing a neophyte to steer the ship of our state so it shall not sail aground but float.
“Suffice it to say that Lokpobiri has not just been an elected house of assembly member, a former senator but he is currently the minister of state for agriculture and rural development.
“He is occupying that slot on behalf of Bayelsans. He has made tremendous impact on that front too by attracting various agricultural and rural development gains to the state.”
Sufodoh noted that the APC could not afford to lose a crucial state arguing that Bayelsa should be aligned to the Centre to attract development.
“The goose that lays the golden egg should reap in the dividends through a governor who can create a symbiotic relationship with the executive at the federal level.
“This is a clarion call on Senator Heineken Lokpobiri to contest the forthcoming Bayelsa State governorship election and he should, without hesitation, accede to it,” Sufadoh said.
