• Friday, March 29, 2024
businessday logo

BusinessDay

Protests rock Yenagoa as Dickson faces torrid time less than 72hrs to exit

Protests rock Yenagoa as Dickson faces torrid time less than 72hrs to exit

Outgoing governor of Bayelsa State, Henry Seriake Dickson, is having some of the most difficult days of his eight years in power as his administration winds down.

With just two days to the formal handover to David Lyon of the All Progressives Congress (APC), there have been protests in front of Government House in Yenagoa with the access barricaded by angry civil servants among others who are protesting non-payment of their December salaries.

The angry workers, staff of the 24 rural development authorities, could be heard shouting invectives at the governor as his convoy attempted to drive out of Government House for an official engagement.

Some of the aggrieved workers accused him of “killing our party when we dey manage,” which is an indication that there is more to the protests that ran into a second day on Wednesday.

The protesters also barricaded the Onopa Junction and the Treasury Building, which resulted in traffic congestion that lasted for several hours before normalcy could return.

It would be recalled that against the advice of many bigwigs in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Dickson singlehandedly chose a successor that caused disaffection within the party in the state.

His choice, Douye Diri lost the governorship election and the PDP has been in a meltdown ever since, for which Dickson has not been forgiven though he had boasted that he is finishing strong.

The protesters seem to have little or no challenge as they chase the outgoing governor anywhere he went to perform official functions, booing him and calling him names. No damage has been caused so far, but it is not clear how long more it would take before violence may erupt.