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The struggle for control of political power in Bayelsa State between the Governor Seriake Dickson and the camp of President Goodluck Jonathan appears to have taken a turn for the worse as the struggle for senatorial tickets of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state has taken a new twist.
Speaker Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Benson Konbowei, a close ally of the governor, apparently speaking the mind of his principal, cautioned the President not to interfere in the choice of senatorial candidates for the party in the state.
Konbowei's reaction came on the heels of reports that Jonathan, as part of the deal reached with the leadership of the Senate, has insisted on the return of Senators Emmanuel Paulker (Bayelsa Central) in 2015.
The President-senators' deal was said to have been agreed to the effect that two senators per state would be given automatic tickets.
Senators Paulker and Heineken Lokpobiri were said to be favoured by the agreement as it affects Bayelsa.
The arrangement, however, has not gone down well with Dickson, who insists on replacing all the three senators, the five House of Representatives members as well as 22 out of the 26 members of the House of Assembly.
Speaking on the alleged intention of the President to save Paulker's job, the Bayelsa State House of Assembly Speaker said, "The President is from the East Senatorial District and we are talking about the Central Senatorial District; we are talking about a senator representing Central Senatorial District, so the President should have nothing to do with the issue.
"We only gave him (Paulker) a second chance and when the second chance was given to him he acted the same way, so why should we give him a third chance?
"In this case Paulker represents the Central Senatorial District, which means we have the feel of his performance but I stand to tell you now that we are feeling non-performance."
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