YENOGOA – Former governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Seriake Dickson, said he was not part of the movement of Governor Douye Diri from Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
He vowed to remain firmly in the PDP, committed to defending Nigeria’s multiparty democracy, insisting that the PDP remained the only party that had provided the Niger Delta with genuine political inclusion at the national level.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja, Dickson, who described the defection as “sad” and “ridiculous,” warned that the growing trend of politicians abandoning opposition parties for the ruling APC was undermining Nigeria’s democratic pluralism.
He said: “I remain where I have always been, in the PDP. I do not believe Nigeria should be a one-party state. As a soldier of democracy, I am used to the ups and downs of political life. I remain steadfast in the PDP, working with colleagues to ensure that the problems in the party are solved.
“I hope the governors and the leadership who created the mess in our party, instead of showing leadership, will now take responsibility. It is very sad. It makes Nigeria look small and makes our democracy look ridiculous.
The senator lamented what he called a culture of political opportunism among Nigerian politicians, contrasting it with Ghana’s more stable democratic experience.
He added: “In Ghana, when President Mahama lost elections, he stayed in his party. When Akufo-Addo’s party later lost, they stayed. President Mahama contested again, won, and was congratulated by his opponent, even before the final tally. That’s democracy.
“In Nigeria, politicians decamp at the slightest opportunity. Whatever they are pursuing or whatever is pursuing them belittles our democracy and endangers our multiparty system.
“I remain standing in the PDP, the party that gave my people and the Niger Delta the opportunity to produce a vice president, an acting President, and a President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This other party cannot do that.”
Dickson noted that while the PDP had internal issues, the solution laid in reforming the party, rather than abandoning it.
He said: “If, however, we do not succeed in saving the PDP, then we will be part of a collective decision but that should not be to join the ruling party. There must always be opposition. A democracy without opposition ceases to be democracy; it becomes dictatorship and totalitarianism.”
He disclosed that Governor Diri consulted him several times before the defection but said he saw “no compelling reason” for a second-term governor to leave the party that brought him to power.
“Since I left office, unlike others, I have not played godfather. I made no requests, no demands, no pressure. I have only been available for consultation and advice.
‘’In this case, the governor consulted me several times, to his credit. I was not convinced because I saw no compelling reason for a second-term governor to defect,’’ Senator Dickson said.
