APC Chieftain Calls on Senator Lokpobiri to Focus on Ministerial Duties and Stop Chasing Shadows

The Financial Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ward 13, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Chief Inko Brightstar, has called on the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, to concentrate on his national assignment instead of laying claims to the leadership of the APC in Bayelsa State.

Chief Brightstar, in a statement issued in Yenagoa, said it was high time the Honourable Minister stopped “dreaming of becoming the leader of Bayelsa APC” and focused on delivering on his responsibilities as Minister of State for Petroleum.

According to him, the constitution of the APC is clear on the issue of party leadership in states. “In the absence of a sitting governor, a former governor or deputy governor becomes the leader of the party. In other words, if His Excellency, Chief Timipre Marlin Sylva, is not present, Rt. Hon. Peremobowei Ebebi automatically assumes the role of leader — not Senator Lokpobiri,” he said.

Chief Brightstar further alleged that Senator Lokpobiri has a track record of working against the APC in Bayelsa, often lending support to the PDP in previous elections while still nursing governorship ambitions under the APC platform. “It is a contradiction for someone who consistently works against the party to keep aspiring to lead it. This is nothing short of betrayal,” he added.

He also accused the minister of neglecting his supporters, unlike other leaders such as Hon. Oforgi Oboku of PDP who, according to him, are visibly empowering their constituents.

Chief Brightstar questioned Lokpobiri’s refusal to attend the recently held 12th Expanded Stakeholders Meeting of the APC in Bayelsa, where President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was adopted for a second term. He described it as “another betrayal to his benefactor.”

The APC Ward 13 financial secretary therefore called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently review the appointment of Senator Lokpobiri, citing what he described as the minister’s “frequent anti-party activities” and lack of loyalty to the APC.

“Senator Lokpobiri has never genuinely supported the APC in any election. Such a person is a threat to our great party and should not be a beneficiary of it,” Chief Brightstar concluded.