Big Fight To Be the next Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly has commenced following the emergence of Chief David Lyon as the Governor-Elect of the state.

....11 lawmakers planning to dump PDP

Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

Tussle for the next Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly has commenced following the emergence of Chief David Lyon as the Governor-Elect of the state.

It was gathered at the weekend that already 11 lawmakers elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were negotiating their ways to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Following the election of Lyon of the APC, who hails from Southern Ijaw in Bayelsa Central Senatorial District, the position of the speaker currently occupied by the council has been zoned to the Bayelsa West.

It was learnt that between Ekeremor and Sagabama, which make up the West, the position was said to have been zoned to Ekeremor since Sagbama currently occupies the governorship position.

Already three lawmakers, Tare Porri, Wilson Dauyegha and Michael Ogbere, were said to be warming up to replace the incumbent Speaker, Monday Obolo.

While Dauyegha is the only APC lawmaker in the council, Porri and Ogbere were said to be among the 11 lawmakers considering defections to the APC to stand a chance of emerging the next speaker.

Sources however disclosed that the APC leaders, who worked for the election of Lyon was seriously considering handing over the speakership position to any of the would-be defectors from the council.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said Dauyegha, the only APC lawmaker from the council, was not in the list at all because of his closeness to a former Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, who is still in court challenging the emergence of Lyon as the candidate of the APC.

The source said: “Dauyegha would have become the speaker with ease since he is the only APC lawmaker from Ekeremor where the position has been zoned to. When we campaigned in the council, some of the Chiefs begged that he should be made the speaker. But I must tell you that the speakership position is very delicate and cannot be given to someone you cannot trust.

“Dauyegha is very close to Lokpobiri and we know how Lokpobori vehemently opposed the emergence of Lyon as the APC candidate. As we speak, Lokpobiri is still in court challenging Lyon. We also remember some historic facts during the administration of the late Governor Diepreye Alamyeisegha.

“So, our thinking is that any of the PDP lawmakers defecting to the APC from the council stands a better chance to get the speakership position especially the one that has no relationship at all with Lokpobiri. Porri is being seriously considered”.

There were also strong indications that the 11 lawmakers negotiating their ways to the APC might commence impeachment of the current speaker to change the leadership of the House and put the APC in majority before the February 14 handover.

Reports were also being circulated that after successfully changing the House leadership to increase the number of the APC lawmakers to 15 out of the 24-member House, the lawmakers would begin an impeachment proceeding against Governor Seriake Dickson.

While confirming the development, the source said the move against Dickson was never the plan of the APC and its leadership but the idea of most lawmakers, who felt that the governor had starved them financially.

“The APC leaders have no hands in any plan to impeach the governor. The lawmakers planning the impeachment are unhappy with the governor because they feel he had maltreated them financially. They also feel that the governor may further punish them because of their poor outing at the poll,” he said.

But another source and PDP stalwart said the rumoured impeachment was real saying it was part of the conspiracy by Bayelsa leaders, who plotted the downfall of Dickson at the poll to further embarrass him.

“Bayelsa leaders across the major party lines, who conspired to end the political dynasty of the governor are also conspiring to deny Dickson the only history that he wants to set in the state.

“The governor has been boasting that he will eventually become the only governor that has completed two terms of eight years in the state. They don’t want him to achieve such feat. But the problem they have is time, the possibility of completing the impeachment process before the hand over note. Their plan is to make Dickson’s deputy an acting governor so he will be the one to hand over to Lyon.

“The governor needs to be extremely careful and must play his game well to survive the next three months. He is a smart politician and we believe that he will survive all these intrigues,” he said.