Posted by The PHC Telegraph on
Every indication is that the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo will pay a scheduled state visit to Bayelsa State....
Every indication is that the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo will pay a scheduled state visit to Bayelsa State.
Although the Bayelsa State Government has not released any statement on the proposed visit, our sources in Yenagoa said the government has been obviously preparing to receive a visitor.
The president's proposed visit is coming against the backdrop of the recent endorsement given to Governor Goodluck Jonathan by members of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly to run for the governorship.
The Telegraph got wind of the impending visit Sunday night and attempts to get to officials of the Bayelsa State Government including the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor failed.
The Chief Press Secretary's phone, according to a voice from the MTN network was not available when we called.
Obasanjo has not hidden his admiration for Governor Jonathan and his proposed visit is expected to offer him a first-hand opportunity to see things for himself.
In official circles last week, all hands were on deck as preparations for the presidential visit got underway.
One official contacted earlier in the day had hinted that the governor and his team would be very busy this week, but he did not say why.
Within |Bayelsa, the proposed visit of the president is being seen as and endorsement of Jonathan's administration by the presidency, given the ongoing battle between the governor and his archrival for the governorship ticket, Chief Timi Alaibe.
Jonathan has in the past few weeks stepped up his moves to sell himself to the people of the State as politicians begin the hunt for who would occupy Creek haven in 2007.
Even as Jonathan gets set to welcome the president, our information is that the Timi Alaibe team is planning to join the reception party.
Until the incumbent governor arrived the scene after Alamieyeseigha was shoved aside, Alaibe was the defacto point man of the presidency in Bayelsa.
Most Bayelsans who are sitting on the fence are hoping that the visit would give them an insight into the mindset of Abuja whose pervading influence has been felt in the State since after the fall of Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.