NIGERIA: A VISIT TO FOUR SOUTHERN STATES: PART 2 -

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000309

SIPDIS


LONDON FOR GURNEY
PARIS FOR NEARY
CAIRO FOR MAXSTADT


E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/20/2007
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM PINR NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: A VISIT TO FOUR SOUTHERN STATES: PART 2 -
BAYELSA

REF: LAGOS 102


Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL ROBYN HINS0JN-JONES FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) A


ND (D).



1. (U) Summary. Once almost guaranteed re-election to the
governorship of oil producing Bayelsa State, the incumbent,
DSP Alamieyesiegha, is facing serious charges of corruption
that have the possibility of disqualifying him. In the four
years of his administration, the governor has had some very
visible successes in improving the infrastructure and economy
of Bayelsa. Despite his accomplishments, the fact of
continuing legal challenges to his candidacy reflects
dissatisfaction with the corruption that permeates Nigerian
politics. End summary.


Background



2. (C) For at least the past fifty years, repeated attempts
have been made to divide Nigeria up into a manageable and
rational pattern of States that would satisfy the demands for
autonomy of its hundreds of distinct ethnic groups. Parts of
both Delta and Rivers States were combined in 1996 to form
Bayelsa State and meet the desires of the Ijaw ethnic group.
Bayelsa thus became the thirty-sixth and newest Nigerian
State. The Governor of Bayelsa is Chief Diepreye Solomon
Peter Alamieyesiegha (known to his supporters as "DSP" or the
"Governor-General of the Ijaws".) He is a member of the
ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),and until the PDP
gubernatorial primary in early January, DSP appeared to be a
shoo-in for re-election. Minister of Public Works and close
confidant of President Olusegun Obasanjo, Tony Anenih, had
endorsed the re-election of all incumbent PDP governors and
vowed the Party's support. DSP was rumored to have a campaign
warchest of billions of naira; so much financing that he
reportedly purchased thirty-five speed boats to campaign in
the region where it is usually easier to travel by boat than
by road. In late January, however, a stumbling block arose
in the form of a citizen's complaint against DSP to the
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses
Commission (ICPC). The complaint charged him with fraud and
improper use of government funds. Eight other PDP governors
(four of whom, including DSP, are from the south) are also
under investigation by the ICPC. With elections scheduled
for March and April, the road to the Government House at
Creek Haven does not look as easy for DSP as it once did.


Getting to Bayelsa



3. (U) Shortly before the ICPC investigations started,
PolOffs went to pay a courtesy/orientation visit to Governor
Alamieyeseigha . After flying from Lagos to Port Harcourt in
Rivers State, the short trip by road to Yenagoa, the capital
of Bayelsa, underscored the endemic problem of no maintenance
of federal roads in most of Nigeria. Bayelsa is a littoral
oil state and, with its share of oil income, should be fairly
prosperous and well-maintained, but gaping holes in the road
made for slow going in our short drive to the capital. The
situation changed remarkably, however, at the Rivers/Bayelsa
border. A four-lane, newly-paved highway led north into the
State through what appeared to be overgrown, uncultivated
land. About two miles from the Bayelsa State Offices, a
"commercial strip" started that ran all the way to our
destination at the State Offices. The strip was only one
small store or stall deep, and we then understood how Bayelsa
State earned the sobriquet of the "State with only one city
and one road."


Big man in Bayelsa



4. (C) We were ushered in to the spacious and elegantly
appointed offices of DSP, to join a group of people waiting
to see the governor. After a wait of slightly over an hour
during which DSP apparently dealt with state vendors and
contractors ahead of us in line, we got to talk with the
governor. (Comment. DSP actually is a big man--over six
feet tall and very heavyset. He and the PDP members of his
cabinet and administration are always photographed in black,
wide-brimmed fedoras, giving them the appearance of early
twentieth century Mafioso. End comment.) DSP was expansive
and happy to spend time telling PolOffs of the
accomplishments of his administration. He said that when he
came into office, there was no State Office building or
governor's Mansion, and he slept on the floor of the
dilapidated former office building. Power generation in the
State had been so bad or lacking, he said, that until
recently the State could provide power only every third day.
He bragged about the new road and a recent improvement in the
provision of electric power to the capital. He told us that
his dream of building the School of Arts and Sciences at
Niger Delta University had come true when the school opened
early this year.

5. (C) Asked about his campaign for governor, he was proud
to tell us about the thirty-five boats he had bought and
invited us to take a boat tour with him of the State on our
next trip. DSP was not so ebullient when asked about
challengers he faced and possible political violence that
might flare up during the campaigns. At the time, DSP faced
at least ten opponents, even some from his own party and
administration. He frowned and answered that none of those
contenders would last to the primary (he was correct),and if
any one caused politically related violence he would "get
them, even if (he) had to track them to their bedrooms!" The
meeting ended on a positive note with the governor reminding
us that Bayelsa was only six years old and had already made
great progress under his administration.

6. (C) Comment. DSP is a former military officer, as are
many at all levels of the Obasanjo government. Military
style of unitary control, with everyone having to come to him
for decisions, was evident during our meeting. He has no
real opposition, and if the ICPC investigation does not
disqualify him, he will probably be re-elected. However, the
ICPC complaint was brought by noted human rights activist,
attorney and presidential candidate, Gani Fawahinmi. The
presence of Fawahinmi, a dogged pursuer of alleged
miscreants, makes the matter unlikely to just disappear.
Despite public statements of support from the PDP and the
Obasanjo administration, DSP has had to take focus off his
campaign and respond to the multiplying charges. The facts
that DSP has faced one challenge after another to his
candidacy, and that one of the nine (Chinwoke Mbadinuju from
Anambra State) has already been disqualified, reflect the
public's growing demand for transparency and accountability
in government.
HINSON-JONES