Pauline Onyibe 
George Turnah, the lead convener of the New Associates, a pro-Wike group in Bayelsa State, has called on Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State to declare his stand ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Speaking on Saturday in Yenagoa during a rally organized to thank President Bola Tinubu for appointing sons and daughters of the Niger Delta, and Nyesom Wike for his recommendations, Turnah said that if Governor Diri supports President Tinubu, he should declare it openly.
“I want to formally call on Governor Douye Diri to immediately announce his stand regarding the 2027 presidency, so that Bayelsans can know where they stand.
“If he is supporting President Tinubu, he should come out and tell us. But if he wants to align with other candidates, let him say so.
“Then we will know whether to follow him or not. The leader who has openly declared support for President Tinubu is Nyesom Wike. If our governor comes tomorrow and says he supports Tinubu, we will work with him. If he says otherwise, we will galvanize support for Tinubu ourselves,” he said.
Turnah, who is also the Zonal Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-South zone and the acting chairman of the PDP in Bayelsa State, noted that almost all South-South governors are supporting Tinubu, except for Bayelsa.
Expressing disappointment over an alleged attempt to disrupt the rally, Turnah condemned the use of violence against fellow Ijaw people, describing it as barbaric.
“In 2019, the Southern Governors met in Asaba and agreed that power should return to the South. Despite that agreement, some decided to act otherwise. But in all, Tinubu from Southern Nigeria became President.
“Tinubu is not from my party, PDP, but once a leader is elected, he becomes the President of Nigeria, and we must support our leader.
“Opposition is not about plotting for leaders to fail. If a leader succeeds, the people benefit. Opposition should uphold leaders to deliver for the people. If a leader is performing, there should be no rush to remove him. When the time comes, PDP will make its decisions,” Turnah stated.
On the need to support President Tinubu and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike for recommending and appointing Bayelsans into key offices, including overseeing the ongoing East-West Road project, Turnah added, “Tinubu has delivered for us; he is a friend better than a brother. We will also support Wike.”
Speaking earlier, the chairman of the occasion, Roland Sekibo, said the New Associates group had come to stay and appealed to Bayelsans to join the movement.
“I have not seen any man who has done as much for the Ijaw people as Wike, especially in Rivers State. He made it possible in the Fourth Republic for an Ijaw man to become governor of Rivers State. I commend President Tinubu and Nyesom Wike for appointing Ijaw sons and daughters into key offices,” Sekibo said.
Also speaking, the secretary of the New Associates group and former spokesman of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Ebilade Ekerefe, accused the state government of trying to disrupt their peaceful rally, vowing that the group would continue its programmes.
He said they organized the rally to appreciate President Bola Tinubu for appointing Bayelsans into positions of responsibility, wondering why anyone would feel threatened by a peaceful gathering.
“How can someone go after law-abiding citizens, particularly Ijaw youths, who have gathered to associate politically? We are not here to cause trouble but to show support and solidarity to the President and Commander-in-Chief,” Ekerefe said.
The immediate past Commissioner of Health in Bayelsa State, Pabara Igwele, also described the rally as peaceful, stating that any attempt to cause panic was for political reasons.
Despite an initial attempt to disrupt the rally with sporadic shooting, the group regrouped and successfully inaugurated the body in Bayelsa State, with Wike’s supporters from Rivers State attending the occasion.
