Diri urges issue-based campaigns ahead of 2027

….Flags off Tinubu’s second-term bid in South-South, congratulates Adeleke

By Samuel Oyadongha, Yenagoa

YENAGOA — Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has urged politicians and their supporters to ensure that campaigns ahead of the 2027 general elections are issue-based, respectful and devoid of personal attacks.

Diri gave the charge on Wednesday in Yenagoa during the flag-off of the South-South zone of the PBAT Door to Door Movement, a political group mobilising support for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu.

The governor urged members of the movement to emulate what he described as Tinubu’s democratic disposition by persuading Nigerians who hold divergent political views rather than treating them as enemies.

He said democracy thrives on plurality of opinions, urging political actors to respect opponents and engage them constructively.

Diri said: “The purpose of our gathering today is to restate without equivocation our unflinching loyalty to the re-election of President Tinubu and to flag off the South-South zone of the PBAT Door to Door Movement.

“While we hold the firm conviction that the South-South people and Nigerians will vote for Mr President, we must not sit down. We are all students of politics, and politics is a game of numbers. Victory is not by accident.

“Democracy is about plurality of decisions. Do not make those who hold different opinions your enemies. Wherever you go and people disagree with you, try to convince them. Do not see them as enemies.”

The governor expressed optimism that the South-South region and Nigerians would support Tinubu for a second term, saying the President needed another term to consolidate the achievements of his administration.

He also called on the leadership of the movement to make its engagements inclusive and persuasive.

“I charge the leadership of the PBAT Movement to be inclusive and persuasive in your engagements. Let our campaigns be issue-based. The Renewed Hope Agenda is work in progress to make Nigeria better,” he said.

Diri described the South-South as a critical component of the Nigerian project and urged the region to support Tinubu’s re-election bid.

He commended the grand patron of the movement, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, for his efforts in mobilising support for the President.

“Let me acknowledge my dear brother, Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo, who is giving back. He is our proud son and brother of this zone. I acknowledge his contributions to the re-election bid of Mr President,” Diri said.

The governor also congratulated his Osun State counterpart, Ademola Adeleke, on his victory in the recent governorship election in the state.

Diri said Tinubu had demonstrated his commitment to democracy, citing his relationship with the governor during Diri’s re-election bid when he was in the opposition, as well as events surrounding the recent Osun election.

He said, “Mr President is a democrat and he has proved it time and again even during my second tenure election when I was in the opposition and most recently in Osun State. Let me congratulate my brother, the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke.”

Earlier, Chairman of the occasion, Chief Lambert Ototo, said Tinubu had performed well and would do better if given another opportunity to serve.

The South-South Coordinator of the PBAT Door to Door Movement, Pastor Reuben Wilson, thanked the state coordinators and other stakeholders for contributing to the success of the event.

Wilson said the movement was established by Ekpemupolo to mobilise support for Tinubu, arguing that the President deserved the backing of the region because of his administration’s appointments and projects in the South-South.

Speaking on behalf of state coordinators, the Bayelsa Coordinator, Hon. Daniel Charles, said the region was united behind Tinubu’s re-election bid.

Also, the Bayelsa State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Hon. Warman Ogoriba, said the South-South was known for acting collectively on issues of common interest.

Ogoriba pledged that the President would secure an unprecedented number of votes from the region in 2027.

He, however, urged members and coordinators of the movement to intensify their mobilisation efforts and remain committed until Tinubu’s re-election is secured.

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