Aligning with the Centre ‘A Lazy Excuse’ — West Slams Bayelsa’s ‘Stomach Infrastructure Politics’

Public affairs commentator Dennis West has dismissed claims that Bayelsa State must align politically with the federal government to achieve development, describing the argument as “a lazy excuse.”

Speaking on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Brief, on Thursday, West argued that genuine progress depends on the character and commitment of state leadership, not political alignment with the centre.

“From 1999 to date, Bayelsa has been a PDP state. Even when the APC came into power, what significant change has Bayelsa State gotten?” he asked.
“It’s immaterial whether you align with the centre or you’re in the opposition. The development of your state is purely on the character of the individual — the leader. If he is interested in developing the state, the state will be developed.”

West criticised the political culture in Bayelsa, describing it as driven by “stomach infrastructure politics” and lacking productive economic sectors.

“In Bayelsa State, with the kind of politics they play here, it’s purely stomach infrastructure politics. I’m emphatic about this — there is no other industry or business venture where the people of Bayelsa make money. Politics is the only industry,” he said.

He warned that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) risks losing relevance in the state, citing the increasing wave of defections to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“The PDP in Bayelsa State, I say this with all sense of humility and respect, will go into extinction because virtually all the members — both living and dead — will all move to the APC for the sake of stomach infrastructure,” West remarked.

His comments come amid a flurry of high-profile defections in Bayelsa’s political landscape, including that of Governor Douye Diri, who recently joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).