THE SUN

The former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and frontline aspirant in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary election, Mr Ndutimi Alaibe, is holding a consultative meeting with critical stakeholders of the PDP on his next political move.

The consultative meeting, which would be concluded in the next 48 hours and its outcome communicated to supporters, is to debunk reports making the rounds that Alaibe is defecting from the PDP to another party.

Alaibe, who had rejected the outcome of what he called a “procedurally faulty PDP governorship primary election “which produced Senator Douye Diri as the PDP candidate, had kept his supporters and the party guessing on his next line of action.

However, a statement titled ‘ Hope is On the Way’ signed by the administrative secretary of the Timi Alaibe Campaign Organisation, Prof Seiyefa Brisibe, Alaibe declared that he has not joined any political party as being bandied in the media as he is a loyal member of the PDP “despite being bombarded by requests and offers of opportunity by other political parties.”

The governorship aspirant, commending his supporters for the peaceful conduct and apologising for the vacuum created by his silence, assured that necessary steps are being taken “in search of justice in what was generally seen as a deliberate adulteration of due process in the conduct of the primary election.”

The statement concludes that:

“Be assured that this evil act against the wish of the people of Bayelsa State, carried out by a handful of selfish people who decided to play god by arrogating to themselves the unrighteous act of imposing their personal decisions on us, will not go unchallenged. At the end, Bayelsa people—who are in the majority—will have their way. As it is traditional in matters of this kind, we needed to carry out due consultation across board with our supporters; particularly the stakeholders—including our vibrant youth and women—before taking any step or embarking on any decision in search of redress or alternatives. We are almost at the end of the necessary consultations. Conscious of the deadlines provided in both the Electoral Acts and the PDP Constitution regarding any action deemed necessary on matters of this nature, we have decided that whatever needs to be done must be done fast. We are appealing to our supporters to remain calm as it would be made known within the next 48 hours, a necessary action that will ensure that Bayelsa people have the governor they deserve, in the person of Chief Alaibe.”