Bayelsa Apc Elects New Leaders …Heineken, Lyon , Others, Boycott Congress.
2 min read
Chris Mark,Yenagoa
The All Progressive Congress (APC), Bayelsa State, has elected new leaders to pilot its affairs in the state for the next four years amidst absence of notable members.
Barr.Otiotio emerged as the state chairman alongside 35 others at the congress which was held on Saturday, 16th of October at the party secretariat in Yenagoa,the Bayelsa State capital.
In his acceptance speech, Barr. Otiotio, thanked the people for counting him worth to lead the party in the state and commended members for their peaceful conduct during the process.
According to him, what was witnessed during the congress was a manifestation that the APC had come to teach other parties and the PDP how to conduct credible elections.
Also speaking, the member representing Southern Ijaw Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Preye Oseke, commended the peaceful conduct of the exercise, predicting that the emergence of Barr. Otiotio as the Chairman of the party would lead to the emergence of a new and rejuvenated APC.
According to him, “I want to thank everyone for their peaceful disposition. The peaceful nature of the exercise shows progress and we are a progressive party. We will continue to maintain that line in all our activities.
“Being a social democratic party, we believe that Bayelsans love APC, we are coming back strong in 2023 to take over the state”
On the legal war, he said, “We must understand that when an exparte order is given, it has a life span. The National secretariat know that there are no legal battle against us hence they won’t have allowed the congress to hold, we are in line that is why we have a new executive”.
In his remarks, Hon. Israel Sunny-Goli, noted that a peaceful congress of such will make the party stronger, adding that the party is battle ready with PDP in the next elections in the state.
“I believe that with the people behind us, the APC will win the 2023 elections. In Bayelsa, we worked hard in 2019 and we won. Now that it later became a PDP state, we will not stop at winning the Governorship election in 2023,” he said.
However, prominent members of the party such as the leader of APC in Bayelsa State, the Minister of State for Petroleum,Chief Timipre Sylva, Former Minister of State, Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Chief David Lyon were absent at the congress.
The factional APC Secretariat in the state had planned for parallel Congress at its secretariat, but was put off citing the subsisting injunction before a court of appeal in Port Harcourt,Rivers State.
The the Chairman of the Congress Committee, DCP Yusuf Aurelius Adejo (rtd), described the exercise as a family affair and was peaceful.
