The former Bayelsa State Coordinator of Peter Obi Presidential Campaign Council, Alagoa Morris, has formally announced his decision to support Governor Douye Diri’s second term bid to his people of Ondewari bloc in Ward 3 of Southern Ijaw Constituency 4.
Morris, a foremost environmental and human rights activist, announced this on Saturday during separate elaborate ceremonies at Ondewari, Okpotuwari and Umbugbene, the three communities that form the Ondewari bloc in the constituency.
He made the official move a few days after switching allegiance from the ‘Obidient Movement’ and the Labour Party to the ‘Dirilised for Second Tenure’ platform ahead of the November 11 governorship election in the state.
Addressing the crowds, including officials of the community development committees, men, women, youths and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporters, Morris said “It is time for me to work for my people” having fought for the rights of several communities and individuals for over 16 years as an activist.
Morris, Programme Manager at the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), said his decision to back Diri for another tenure was hinged on the governor’s firm assurances to him that his administration was not playing politics with the ongoing construction work on the Yenagoa-Oporoma-Ukubie road and Nembe-Brass road, among other big-ticket projects in the state.
“I have thought it wise that small and big, chiefs and ordinary people of Ondewari, Okpotuwari and Umbugbene, we should know that politics and democracy is about numbers. Politics entails that it’s not by gun, it’s by voting.
And it’s the number, how many you use to pass your opponent that count. “So, I’m here today to tell you that I have thrown my weight behind Senator Douye Diri’s second tenure bid. Why did I say so? A road is coming and it will hit Ondewari first.
Then, apart from that, if you look at what the governor is doing, he has done a lot. Senator Douye Diri is tearing bushes and forests and constructing new roads in Bayelsa State”, he said.
He urged the people of the three communities to consider the many good things the Diri-led administration was bringing to the area and line up behind the governor, stressing that “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”.
The secretary of PDP Ward 3, Kokorifa Peter, said the party and the people were delighted that Morris personally visited his community to inform them of his choice of Diri in the forthcoming governorship polls.
He noted that the rights activist was a big fish to reckon with, and called on the constituents to work for the PDP and deliver the governor for a second term. Peter said, “For us to get people like Alagoa Morris coming to PDP is a plus for us. These are the forces we need in the coming (governorship) election in Bayelsa State.”
Some chieftains of the party, Rueben Joseph and Amaebi Kokorifa, as well as the secretary of Ondewari Community Development Committee, Seawell Akpolos, among others, lauded their son for taking the bold decision. Akpolos however appealed to Diri to come to the aid of the communities concerning lack of social amenities and high cost of water transportation, saying the people were suffering. END
