My political destiny has nothing to do with Jonathan – Close friend

Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s close friend, Chief Diekivie Ikiogha, has revealed that his political destiny is not tied to the former President.

 Chief Diekivie Ikiogha

Recently, Ikiogha, reputed to be one of the long standing allies of Jonathan, formally dumped the Peoples Democratic Party for the All Progressives Congress in Bayelsa State.

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Ikiogha had at an elaborate ceremony held at Community Secondary School, Kpansia open field, Yenagoa, with many PDP faithful, embraced the ‘broom party’.

Ikiogha, a former Bayelsa State Chief of Staff, was believed to be one of the brains behind the emergence of Seriake Dickson as governor in 2012.

But indications of frosty relationship between Dickson and Ikiogha emerged when Dickson removed him in controversial circumstances as Chief of Staff, Government House, Yenagoa and redeployed him to Abuja liaison office.

The current APC chief, in an interview on Saturday, said notwithstanding his friendship with Jonathan, he had decided to jump into the ship of the APC to chart a new political course for himself.

When asked why he left the PDP for another party when the former president was still in the party, Ikiogha said, “Maybe people are getting it wrong or they are looking at it from a different point of view. Well, I do not have anything with former President Jonathan.

“Our relationship (Jonathan and I) remains very cordial and I feel that my political destiny is not tied to anybody. It is not tied to friendship, it is not tied to even my wife or my mother or my father. You see, yes, here is a man that we started together, we have been able to raise him to the level of the President and he has finished what he needed to do and has come back home. Must I not chart my political course?

“I need to chart a course to do the right thing to do. If because of him, I was in the PDP and because of him I could not move because he was the President and I needed to give him the support as a friend until he is no longer there, must I continue to be blind to say even if he is no longer there I should remain?

“The point is that I have seen a better association, a place that I feel that I can belong to exercise my political opinions and make my suggestions for the betterment of the country. I feel that the platform of APC is better for me and if I have not been able to take that decision years ago because of him, now that he is no longer there, what stops me? Nothing, because I cannot continue to tie my destiny to Jonathan. My political destiny is different from every other person.”

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He said he left the PDP because the party was full of deceits and betrayals as well as lack of internal democracy.

On the forthcoming governorship election in the state, the APC leader, who is one of the top aspirants, said the APC would trounce the PDP, irrespective of whether the PDP fields Dickson.

He stated, “Well, my prayer is that there should be free and fair elections, campaign and everything, but I know that even though PDP has been on the ground for 16 years, APC is sure to win the governorship election. How we would go about it, I may not be able to tell you but all what I know is that APC will capture the day.

“But it also depend on who the APC is presenting. The PDP depends also on who they present. But I am sure that if APC presents a good candidate, it will win by a landslide whether the PDP presents incumbent Governor, Seriake Dickson.

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