The Bayelsa State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has dissociated itself from the purported endorsement of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for the 2019 presidency by former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. Atiku, a former Vice President and PDP Presidential Aspirant reportedly received the blessing of Jonathan recently when the former visited him in his country home, Otuoke, Bayelsa State to drum up support for his presidential ambition.
Sources in the PDP state secretariat said the party apparatchik was not comfortable with the endorsement and has vowed to do every thing within its powers to dissociate itself from the endorsement or any attempt by anyone to use or hide under the state chapter of the party to endorse a particular candidate.
The decision to dissociate itself may have prompted the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Chapter òf PDP, Hon Moses Cloepas to issue a strong – worded statement on Wednesday, deflating the endorsement of Atiku. He said that it is the position of the State chapter of the party as endorsed by the leader of the party, His Excellency, Gov Henry Seriake Dickson that the party would receive all aspirants and accord each of them the respect, hospitality and the courtesy they deserve and not endorse or allow its platform to be used to endorse any particular candidate before the PDP Presidential primary.
Cleopas further noted that the decision of who to endorse for Presidential candidacy of the party would be collectively taken by the state at the Convention, presidential primary of the party.
He said, “The Bayelsa State chapter of the PDP will receive all presidential aspirants under the platform of the party. The party in Bayelsa will ensure that all presidential aspirants are treated fairly with the respect and courtesy they deserve.
“However, it is the position of the state chapter of the party that there would be no endorsement of any particular candidate before the convention.
“The position of the state would be decided collectively and expressed at the convention ground.”
Cleopas said that it was indeed encouraging that people of integrity with the requisite political clout were aspiring to run for the Presidency in the 2019 election on the platform of the PDP.
He stressed that the PDP had the strength to wrest political power from the APC in 2019, with its vast spread and visible presence in all the 774 local government areas and indeed every ward in the country.
The party chairman who stressed that Bayelsa is a PDP State thanked the leaders and members of the party for always standing by the party.
