PREYE AGANABA AND THE BAYELSA APC JOURNEY. PT. 1

Engr. Preye Aganaba taking the message of change to the grassroots in late 2014

Edited by Bodmas P. Kemepadei

Preye Aganaba led the crusade openly for change amidst a raging torrents of abuse and criticism, he persevered even when he knew at that time that his obvious loyalty to the Apc and President Buhari, would be a stumbling block to his ambition, yet, he was ready to sacrifice his personal ambitions for the greater good of his political party and a better life for Nigerians.

Preye Aganaba’s pivotal role in the emergence of the Bayelsa Apc made it's foundation solid and also bought in respect and admiration for the Party. He is indeed the trail blazer of Apc in Bayelsa State and the Niger Delta region.

It could be recalled sometime in february 2014, When plans were finalised to move the APC into Bayelsa state, a brief meeting was held among former Governor Timipre Sylva, Chief Tiwei Orunimighe (the APC interim chairman as he then was) and Engr. Preye Aganaba  in a location at Port Harcourt.

This was the time when timetable for ward registration of new members were out, but the party in the state had no secretariat. Inorder to change the situation by giving the party an edifice, that will serve both as its administrative headquarters and a concrete symbol of its presence in the state.

To this effect, Chief Sylva provided a property to site the office in; but it was sealed by the PDP led Bayelsa state government which claimed ownership of it, Sylva then instructed party members to search for another befitting location to be paid for, which was did, but when members reported back to Sylva, he kept on promising to release funds which he never did.

The party then got another property – a one-time secretariat of the PDP in 2003 – which was singlehandedly paid for by Preye Aganaba. Still it was also raided and eventually sealed off by the state Governor through his then Chief of Staff, Chief Diekivie Ikiogha (who incidentally, has just joined our party, he is most welcomed) Ikiogha gave us a warning that “Boko Haram’s Political party or Islamic party is not welcomed in Bayelsa State, the home of Mr President Jonathan, leader of the PDP and the Ijaw nation".

In both cases, the raiders of our Secretariat were aided by the Bayelsa State Police command. Thus even when the estate agent that rented the property to the party contacted the then Commissioner of Police, she was rudely told it was an “order from above”.

Like a choir singing from the same well-rehearsed hymn book, that same week, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) issued a statement proclaiming Bayelsa state a PDP state and asking APC members to limit their activities to the North. This was followed by similar press statements from a plethora of government funded and aided groups from the region and state. As if in a competition to be the most vocal Anti-APC folks around, elements from various ex-militant groups, the Ijaw National Congress etc all joined the fray and issued statements declaring their unalloyed support for the PDP and reinforcing the persona non-grata status of the APC in the state and region.

Against this backdrop, on the eve of our ward registration, the party faced with the daunting and distracting task of searching for yet another Secretariat. Party men, leaders and chieftains were confused as the challenges pressed harder, Unknown to many who were already on the edge, Preye Aganaba had an ace up his sleeves. While our oppositions were jubilating our downfall, Aganaba reinstated our hope by eventually revealing the existence and location of a third Secretariat which he had already paid and settled for.

Having securing this secretariat through Aganaba's effort, against stiff opposition, we were still faced with the challenge of security.


The Bayelsa State police command, as I have already pointed out above claimed to be working with a mandate “from above ” to frustrate our lawful efforts aimed at planting our party, the APC, in the state. So they were not an option to trust our security with. They had in fact been harassing our interim chairman incessantly in the weeks leading to that time, they laid all manner of accusations upon him inorder to frustrate him, still in all, he was resolute and held to his stand.

The morning after Aganaba disclosed the new office space he had secured to the party chairman, Chief Tiwei. Both then joined efforts together and were able to raise 5 police troopers/trucks totalling 20 mobile policemen from outside the state whom we brought into the state with trepidation. By a stroke of luck, the Bayelsa state police command upon seeing our security thought that we had some form of  approval from “Abuja” and supported us with an extra trooper/truck less than an hour after we opened the secretariat with our supporters watching with apprehension and cautious optimism at the sudden twist.

All this while, party faithfuls were struggling to ensure the Bayelsa Apc is vibrant and vocal, Chief Timipre Sylva was cooling his head off in Abuja.

Without Aganaba's effort the party would have been a mess in the state, because he brought a semblance of dignity, respect and a healthy dose of fear – fear, in the sense that the Ruling Peoples Democratic Party  was for once shaken to its core on seeing his zeal and commitment for building the Apc in Bayelsa State.

Aganaba who was also visible on ground moving house to house, preaching the message of change, successfully built a better image for the party,  The party which was being taken as an ONLINE party filled with Jokers and Yesteryears’ men, the APC in Bayelsa state was catapulted into the pedestal of Political Parties to be taken seriously. He went further to constitute a team of campaigners to take the message of change to all the different communities and Local Government Area cutting across the state, with this, the name APC became an household item and people became aware that Apc has come to stay in Bayelsa.

Thus, when Buhari and other National Actors of the Party Visited Yenagoa for their grand campaign, they met a State that was ready to accept them, irrespective of GEJ, with Aganaba to be lauded.

In closing, it should be noted that the foregoing does not in anyway deny the contributions of others to the growth of the Party in the state. This is a focus on the pivotal role of Preye Aganaba.

(To be Contd).

With excerpts from Ken Bena and the Scoop.