The APC Campaign Organization for the Bayelsa West Senatorial bye-election has condemned in strong terms what it called "the baseless political propaganda of zoning orchestrated by the PDP in order to elicit unnecessary attention."
The APC campaign outfit strongly believes that, "the ongoing media cacophony is a figment of imagination by the PDP and borne out of fear of the impeccable democratic credentials of Rt. Hon. Peremobowei Ebebi as the candidate of the APC."
Information on our newsdesk stated that, there has never been any form of zoning in the Bayelsa West Senatorial District from the inception of the fourth republic, stressing that the emergence of the various Senators from the area is a product of unabated political struggle and contestations.
Without any fear of contradictions, the group outlines in specific terms the various incidences that culminated in the outburst of electoral violence in an attempt to occupy the said office.
It states that in 2003, while working for their mentor in a bid to secure the office of senate, a team of young men from Ekeremor LGA engaged in an unprecedented electoral violence that utterly destroyed the Governor's Lodge in Sagbama Town and set several vehicles ablaze in a bid to secure the office of senate when SALGA had served only one term.
"The simple question is that was this distasteful experience part of the zoning formula", it asked.
Similarly, the APC Campaign Organization avered that "in flagrant violation of the terms and conditions of the purported agreement, in 2007, Governor H. S. Dickson contested for the office of senate but subdued by the countervailing political forces; the emergence of Senator Heineken Lokpobiri in that election as the winner was a product of Providence, reinforced by his alliance with Chief Timi Alaibe."
While evaluating and querring the ambiguities associated with the terms and conditions of the so-called principle of zoning, the group recounted in a lucid manner the sordid experiences that almost brought down heaven in Sagbama Town when an attempt to secure third term in 2015 was executed.
According to the APC Campaign outfit, these unpleasant experiences and contradictions, occasioned, in part, by the show of unbriddled penchant for power is the bane of zoning in the Bayelsa West Senatorial District.
Although, the so-called zoning practice may have been an intra-party affair initiated by few PDP members as it provides political convenience for them to advance their interest, yet there were several instances where the party members wittingly breached the conditions of the agreement.
Moreso, the so-called Mayflower agreement took place at a time the State was operating a one party system with no other party capable of winning any elective office. With the emergence of the APC as a distinct political platform with a clearly defined ideology and modus operandi that provides a viable option for electoral contests, the practice of zoning does not fall into the range of its activities as it negates the principle of merit and quality representation. The practice of zoning defies democratic ethos and ethics.
Nonetheless, the APC Campaign Organization contends unequivocally that the principle of zoning cannot be done in isolation of other political benefits available to a people. It argues that in Bayelsa West Senatorial District, the office of the governor of the state, which was meant for the two LGAs and also bigger than the office of senate should have formed an integral part of the principles underlying the zoning formula. Such an index should have also replicated itself while attempting to determine the choice of the office of the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State. Unfortunately, these juicy offices have been occupied by the people of Sagbama LGA. This ugly trend has alienated and relegated the people of Ekeremor LGA to a lower caste of second class citizens. This show of insensitivity to the feelings of a people is invidious and repugnant to natural justice and good conscience.
Furthermore, the group rhetorically questions the rationale behind the choice of one man as the only suitable person to occupy all these mouthwatering offices. From the foregoing, the group draws the logical conclusion that in all latent and manifest forms, the idea of zoning is only useful in the context of advancing and protecting the interest of a section of the people. Such a pejorative application of the principle of zoning only reduces the practice to a political propaganda that advances the inordinate ambitions of the few and therefore, susceptible to the antics of some self-seeking individuals who take pleasure in accumulating wealth primitively. In view of the above, the group calls for a more objective application of the concept that will be all-inclusive, all-emconpasssing and wholistic; one that is devoid of selfish proclivities and capable of providing an acceptable balance that encourages fairness, equity and justice. It is within the purview of the foregoing that informed the consciousness of the group to describe the existing tilting political order as anathmatic and satanic, capable of igniting sensibilities and attendant aggression.
In a context, therefore, the group advocates that if the idea of zoning is to assuage the feeling of injustice, neglect and deprivation, the choice of a seasoned lawmaker, a man who epitomizes and personifies the virtue of humility that is fast eroding us and a man capable of drafting legislations that will be a true reflection of the sum total of the yearnings and aspirations of the people is a Devine call. A vote for our most suitable choice, succinctly describes as the power balancer, Rt. Hon. Peremobowei Ebebi is a vote for our future, the group asserted.
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