The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa , Mr Moses Cleopas, has come under severe criticism after he openly accused two prominent aspirants, Mr Keniebi Okoko and Timi Alaibe, of sending fake alerts to some unnamed delegates to tomorrow\u2019s party primaries in the state.<\/p>\n
In a statement in Yenagoa, Okoko, a business and philanthropist, who expressed anger over what he described as the chairman\u2019s \u2018reckless\u2019 utterances , said it was unbelievable that a man who\u2019s supposed to be neutral in a contest as important as the primaries had become an active participant and taking sides with impunity.<\/p>\n
Cleopas had in a statement last night accused the aspirant of sending fake bank alerts to the delegates who are currently camped in various hotels in the state pending the election tomorrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy attention has been drawn to a statement by the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa, Moses Cleopas, accusing me of sending fake bank alerts to some unnamed delegates.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs usual, we would have ignored such rambling as an attempt to tar my person and portray me in bad light in the eyes of my teeming supporters within and outside Bayelsa who are banking on me to create a new and sustainable future for this state when I become governor.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut coming from no less a person than the chairman of our great party, the PDP, it behoves on me to respond to this grave allegation by one who ordinarily should be an umpire in this political game.<\/p>\n
\u201d Let it also be stated very clearly that we do not believe that the chairman is acting with the backing of our dear Governor , Seriake Dickson, whose love for the PDP and the Bayelsan people has never been in doubt. The governor we know will never support this level of impunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, as a pastor with a strong family name to defend, I have never and will never engage in this kind of act which the chairman who has thrown all decorum to the wind is publicly accusing me of.<\/p>\n
\u201d In my 13 years as a private businessman, I have never been accused of any fraudulent activity, unlike him that has always depended on the spoils of government to survive. I have built my reputation with my own sweat and any attempt by anybody, including Cleopas to smear that image will be resisted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wicked is always afraid of their shadows. The same act which he has continuously deployed and all the illegal processes to sway delegates to his preferred candidate (s) is now backfiring.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no hiding place for him and his cohorts, so they have to find someone to blame and that someone has to be Keniebi Okoko because he poses a potent threat to their devilish plots\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Okoko added that it was unfortunate that a man who ordinarily should be neutral in a contest as important as the party primaries had decided to take sides with some aspirants against other governorship hopefuls in the party.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is obvious that this man neither has the competence nor the integrity to pilot this our great party through a smooth exercise devoid of acrimony and unnecessary bad blood.<\/p>\n
\u201d If anyone is trying to hoodwink the delegates, it is Cleopas who has shown gross irresponsibly in handling the affairs of the PDP in the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur advice to him is to thoroughly search his conscience and retrace his steps where he lost his path in the interest of our party.<\/p>\n
\u201d By his recent actions and utterances , it is obvious that Cleopas is bent on destroying our great party. We therefore call on the national leadership of the PDP to call to order this man who has taken sides in a contest in which he is supposed to be an umpire.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is neither fit nor proper to occupy that exalted position which he currently sits atop and is using to destroy our great party.<\/p>\n
\u201d Cleopas should do well not to tread this very dangerous route or he will have to explain the intimate details of his recent Lagos trip to the party and indeed Bayelsans.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not surprised that the chairman has decided to toe this path. This is what happens when sudden power and influence fall on your laps. Cleopas was neither deserving nor prepared for it. He should be ashamed of himself!<\/p>\n
\u201d Like we stated earlier, Cleopas should be called to order by the national leadership of the PDP or he will steadily destroy this party built by the sweat of founders of this great party\u201d.<\/p>\n
Okoko, therefore demanded a 24-hour retraction of the statement issued by the chairman and vowed to use all legal means to clear his image if its not done within the stipulated time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remain undeterred by this latest rambling of a confused man and will keep being focused on our mission to rescue Bayelsa from the pangs of poverty and backwardness in the comity of states.<\/p>\n
\u201d Finally, by this statement we are demanding a public apology from Cleopas which must be published in at least two national newspapers in the next 24 hours, failing which we shall explore all legal avenues available to us\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa , Mr Moses Cleopas, has come under severe criticism after he openly accused two prominent aspirants, Mr Keniebi Okoko and Timi Alaibe, of sending fake alerts to some unnamed delegates to tomorrow\u2019s party primaries in the state. In a statement in Yenagoa, Okoko, a business […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":13869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,16],"tags":[773,173,65],"class_list":["post-14952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-parties","tag-bayelsa","tag-parties","tag-pdp"],"yoast_head":"\n