The Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, on Monday took up his antagonists, vowing not to cave into their cheap blackmail.
Lokpobiri recalled that in the last few days, the Bayelsa State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has contended with some unsavoury moments, which were orchestrated by an insignificant few within the party and oiled by some external forces who feel threatened about their political future, especially as the APC challenges the outcome of the last governorship election at the Election Petitions Tribunal.
He refuted claims in certain quarters that he bought his ministerial appointment form from the state leader of the APC, Chief Timipre Sylva.
In a statement issued on Monday by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Donald Ojogo, the minister said that from the onset, his attitude had been to ignore and avoid responding to all such untoward moves and circumstances around the APC.
According to him, “such do not represent the much-required cohesion, sincerity of purpose and political maturity. This becomes more pertinent for me when statements purportedly issued by fictitious groups ignobly emanate from the Bayelsa State Government House in apparent show of solidarity with disgruntled elements within the APC.
Nonetheless, in the view of the deliberate fabrication of lies and misrepresentation of facts on the part of those who have allowed themselves to be used in this blackmail venture, it has become very compelling to state the following:
“The Hon Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, never got his appointment on the platter of financial negotiations as expressly insinuated by the suspended state chairman of the APC, Chief Tiwei Oruminigha and his cohorts.
“That like other appointees of Mr. President, Senator Lokpobiri was duly considered worthy to be so appointed in his position.
“It is a clear case of misrepresentation of facts to insinuate that former governor of Bayelsa who is the leader of the APC in Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, collected money from Lokpobiri before his appointment as minister. This is an outright fabrication.
“That reference by Tiwei Orunimigha to statements purportedly made by Hon Minister in the build up to the 2015 elections that he (Lokpobiri) never believed in the ability of the APC and its then presidential candidate (now president), Muhammadu Buhari to win election is nothing but an exhibition of either some form of delusion or incurable amnesia,” Ojogo said.
Lokpobiri traced his political affinity with President Muhammadu Buhari to 2003 when he was the senatorial candidate of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) for Bayelsa West Senatorial District when he vigorously campaigned for Buhari.
Meanwhile, the state APC has said that it had been compelled to expose the under hand dealings between Governor Henry Seriake Dickson and Oruminighe alongside two of his accomplices.
In a statement, State APC Secretary, Mr. Fortune Panebi, said that its attention has been drawn to a statement laced with lies and outright misinformation purporting and insinuating financial dealings between Sylva and Lokpobiri prior to the appointment of the latter as minister.
Panebi said: “But our curiosity is that the statement emanated from one Daniel Iworiso-Markson, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Dickson. The question of who is behind the suspended chairman and his ‘boys’ does not need to be asked. What rather baffles us is the rationale behind this incredulous act of anti-party and unconscionable desire for monetary gains in the name of politics.”
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