Gov. Seriake Dickson: If Sylva Was not Good Enough to be Minister under Buhari, then He is not Good Enough for Bayelsa

Fresh from one leg of his campaign tour of communities in Bayelsa State where he addressed mammoth crowds, Gov Henry Seriake Dickson fielded questions from the reporters on the

forthcoming governorship election slated for December 5 this year. Basing his confidence of victory on his performance so far, Dickson believes the coming elections would be no contest as the rival All Progressives Congress, APC, does not have any foothold on the politics of the state. He also declares that if Buhari could not make the APC candidate, Timipreye Sylva, a minister, then he is not good enough to return as the governor of the state. Excerpts:
What informed your decision to embark on a community-to-community campaign? With what you have seen so far, how much of democratic  dividends would you say have really flowed down to the people at the grass root level?
I want first of all to use this opportunity to thank the chiefs, elders, leaders and the good and wonderful people of the communities and local government areas and wards that I have been to so far for their outpouring of love and support and encouragement. It was touching to see school children wearing uniforms that my government supplied carrying banners in appreciation of their governor and praying for  me for the investments I am making for their future. That is a lasting dividend of democracy: the investment in the future of the state, in the hearts and minds not of a few Yenagoa-based critics and Abuja-based politicians. I saw hope and appreciation in the faces of our people. Our people do not know any other political party contesting for this election other than me as the candidate of the PDP. I saw the massive outpouring of genuine love and support from the chiefs, elders, youths, women groups.Well, you asked why this community to community tour?  Part of what I am doing and have been doing is to quietly in my own way change the way politics is played in this state. The level of maturity and tolerance I have brought to bear on the politics is such that you see the opposition campaigning against me as vigorously as I am also  campaigning. That is happening for the first time. When APC’s  Chief Timipre Silva was governor, you saw what he did. Even the primaries in his own party were filled with shooting and holding people hostage.  When he was here as governor, anybody who wanted to campaign against him would be attacked. One of his supporters, Chief Rufus Abadi, knows what happened to him in his house at Otuan. But some of our people have short memories.  I want to challenge Sylva to do same and sleep in the communities as I am doing, instead of bragging about federal force. No one knows him at the federal level other than he was used to unseat his brother. Let him go to our communities and relate with them freely as I am doing.
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