…Says he remains to rebuild opposition party

…Backs nomination of Amupitan as INEC Chairman

Senator Seriake Dickson, representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District, on Wednesday, accused Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State and other People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governors of deserting the party to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), after creating a monumental crisis in the party.

Dickson made this accusation while briefing journalists at the National Assembly Complex hours after Governor Diri defected from the PDP to the ruling party, saying that they were running away from the crisis they created in the opposition party.

He, however, admitted that Governor Diri consulted him several times on his plan to dump PDP, but said that he was never convinced of his defection, as there was no compelling need for a second-term governor like the governor of his State to defect.

He argued that Nigeria, being a plural society, deserved a functional and vibrant multi-party democracy and not one party, which breeds dictatorship and authoritarianism.

He said, “I am where I have been. I am where I am. I don’t believe that Nigeria should be a one-party state. And as a soldier of democracy, I’m used to the ups and downs of democratic practices and democratic life, and political life especially. And I’m still as constant. As a northern star.

“Steadfast in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and working with my colleagues and friends to ensure that problems in the party are solved.

“I hope that the governors and the leadership working committee who created this mess in our party, all of them, and who, instead of showing leadership, have created this mess and ensured that it has persisted for this long.

“And they are the ones now bailing out after creating the problem that they could not solve or refuse to solve. It’s very sad. Very, very sad. It’s making Nigeria look small and making our country’s democracy look ridiculous.

“We don’t really know what they are pursuing or what is pursuing them. But whatever it is, it belittles our democracy and endangers our multi-party democracy.

“I believe in a multi-party Nigeria. A plural Nigeria can only thrive in a plural democratic environment. That’s what has happened. But on the specifics of Bayelsa, you know, since I left and handed over to all the members who used to be part of my team, and I left, unlike others who are godfathers, I’ve not been a godfather. Left everything. No requests, no demands, no pressure. Only being available for consultation and advice.

“As in this case, the governor consulted me several times to his credit. And I was not convinced because I didn’t see any compelling reason for a second-term governor to defect.

“I’m just using this to say that I am still standing. In the PDP that gave my people ( the Ijaw Nation ) and the Niger Delta people an opportunity to run for election, to emerge as vice president of this country, acting president of Nigeria, and president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“This other party cannot do that. And I’m standing there with the PDP. If and when we don’t succeed in retrieving the PDP, in saving the PDP, then we’ll be part of a collective decision, which again, should not be the ruling party. Because I believe there must be opposition. A democracy without opposition ceases to be a democracy”.

On the recent appointment of the new Chairman of 5he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Dickson expressed his unalloyed support for the nomination of Professor Joash Amupitan as the new helmsman of the nation’s electoral umpire.

He said that President Tinubu has made a very good choice and he would fully support the confirmation of his appointment anytime the apex legislative Assembly chose to screen the Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

“I will be casting my vote, and I will be supporting the nomination. And as a member of the Electoral Committee, and also a member of the Senate, I will work with colleagues to ensure that the electoral reforms we are championing see the light of day, and that Professor Amupitan is confirmed as Chairman of INEC.

“We expect him, as a professor of law and a senior advocate of Nigeria, the first senior advocate to be so nominated, to understand his place in history,” Dickson stated.