In the midst of swirling political drama in Bayelsa and national debate over the nomination of a new INEC Chairman, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson has made his position unmistakably clear: he’s staying put in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The former Bayelsa governor, who now represents Bayelsa West in the Senate, told journalists in Abuja on Thursday that while he respects the right of others to take political decisions, his values of loyalty, consistency, and principle will not allow him to defect.
“I am not moving. I remain in the PDP,” Dickson said firmly. “My life and values about constancy, consistency, principles, honour, and loyalty to people and causes have not changed.”
Turning to the national stage, Dickson also addressed questions surrounding President Bola Tinubu’s nomination of Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
As a member of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, Dickson said he had done his homework and found no evidence that the nominee was ever part of the President’s legal team during the last election petitions, as some had alleged.
“I made inquiries and discovered that the confusion arose because of the similarity in names between Professor Amupitan of UNIJOS and Professor Osipitan of the University of Lagos. They are two different persons,” he clarified.
He praised the nomination of Amupitan, noting that for the first time in Nigeria’s history, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) is being considered for the role.
“That alone should give him a sense of history and responsibility,” Dickson said. “He should be conscious of the judgment of men, of God, and of posterity.”
The senator’s reaffirmation of remaining with the PDP came hours after news broke that Governor Douye Diri his successor and political protégé had defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) along with most of the state’s PDP House of Assembly members.
Describing it as “a major development in the politics of our state,” Dickson lamented that Bayelsa, a PDP stronghold since 1999, was being “donated to the APC free of charge.”
Still, he stressed that his loyalty to the PDP and to the ideals it represents remains unshaken.
“It is unfortunate that my hand-picked successor has taken this step. But I wish him well. These days, you never know what is pursuing those defecting to the APC — or what they are pursuing,” he said with a hint of irony.
He recalled his own long-standing commitment to the party — from steering the PDP through its post-2015 crisis to chairing the National Reconciliation Committee — saying he would rather help rebuild the party than abandon it.
“Captains who are truly deserving of their ranks are the last to bail out,” he said pointedly. “I believe that time has not come.”
Senator Dickson urged Bayelsans not to allow political realignments to threaten the peace that has prevailed in the state for more than 15 years.
“Let everyone go about politicking peacefully. Since I left office, I have avoided behaving like a godfather or interfering with governance, and I intend to keep it that way,” he assured.
He also commended loyal PDP members who have chosen to remain with the party, promising to work with other leaders to “reposition the PDP as a credible opposition.”
“The PDP remains the inclusive platform that gave the Ijaw Nation, the Niger Delta, and indeed minorities across Nigeria, a voice,” he said. “We must not abandon it now.”
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