Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa state has given the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), one of the machineries campaigning for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan in the February election for his second-term in office, quit notice. The governor ordered it to leave the state and stop campaigning for the President, in what appears a battle between the governor and loyalists of the president’s wife who are in charge of the organization in the State.
In a press statement today signed by the governor’s spokesperson, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, governor Dickson directed the leadership of the TAN to immediately leave Bayelsa State.
The group had for several months staged massive rallies in support of President Jonathan long before the formal kick-off of electioneering in the country. At the time, the group claimed it was campaigning to convince Jonathan to seek re-election.
But in a fresh twist in relations between the governor and the wife of the president, whose loyalists are said to be in control of TAN in the state, governor Dickson accused the group of promoting subversive activities and inciting crisis and divisions within the PDP in the State.
The governor, who gave the warning at a meeting with the Peoples Democratic Party’s flag bearers for February general elections at the party’s secretariat in Yenagoa, said he is responsible for directing campaigns for President Jonathan in the state.
He described the PDP in the state as the only recognized political platform and structure saddled with the responsibility of leading the president’s campaign in the state with him as party leader.
Governor Dickson said the activities of TAN have outlived their usefulness even as he alleged that TAN and some members of its top hierarchy have become tools of subversion, creating needless rancour, acrimony and divisions.
According to the governor, the activities of TAN and the other groups, if not checked, could be counterproductive, especially with the presidential and other elections, only a few weeks away.
He said that he has the mandate of Bayelsa people to protect the stability, peace and security of the State.
The governor, who announced the planned visit of President Jonathan to the state, said he would use the opportunity on February 5 to express appreciation to Nigerians for their unwavering support and solidarity to the Jonathan administration.
The governor emphasized that Bayelsa State is a stronghold of the PDP and a strong support base for President Jonathan, whom he noted, does not need to campaign in his home state.
An unnamed official of TAN, who was contacted for comments, described the allegations as “wild and unfounded” adding that TAN had noted three unprovoked attacks on the organizations.
He said that the organization will deliberate and issue a statement in response to the comments by the governor.
“It is very primitive of someone who claims to be working for the President to try to attack an organization build to promote the candidacy of the same President, this development has exposed the workings of his mind,” the TAN official said. [myad]
