Elder Statesmen Drum Support For Sim

Kinsmen in Opobo Kingdom under the aegis of ‘Opobo Elder Statesmen 4 SIM’ have thrown their weight behind the candidacy of the governorship flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, in the forthcoming 2023 elections, Amaopusenibo Siminilayi Fubara, popularly called Sim.
Speaking at the grand finale of the Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI) Sensitisation and Collection of PVC Rally in Opobo Town, some elder statesmen the unanimous in the choice of Sim as the PDP candidate.
The statesmen comprising Chiefs, titled citizens, opinion leaders and other respected sons across Opobo Kingdom reiterated that the emergence of Sim as the PDP flagbearer for next year’s governorship election in the State is a historic feat.
Chairman of the group, Opobo Elder Statesmen 4 SIM, Alabo Edwin Cockeye Brown, said they were at the event to sensitise the people of Opobo on the need to collect their PVCs and use them to vote for their son as the next Governor of the State, at the 2023 general elections.
Commending the GDI for painstakingly touring the 23 Local Government Areas of the State for the campaign, Alabo Brown, a Justice of the Peace and Chief of the Brown War Canoe House of Opobo, stressed that the group is non-partisan but made up of men of impeccable integrity whose sole objective was to further the advancement of Opobo Kingdom.
According to him, “Electoral victory is determined by the active participation of the electorates. This can only be achieved through conscious participation of the citizenry, not only in voters registration exercise, but also in the collection of their voters cards”.
He pledged the commitment of the entire War Canoe Houses in Opobo Kingdom to drive the initiative of ensuring that the PVCs are collected and put into productive use.
On his part, the Chairman of the Board of Opobo Elder Statesmen 4 SIM, Alabo Reuben Mietamuno Jaja, said the unprecedented turnout of people for the event showed the solidarity of not only the people of Opobo and Nkoro, but the entire Rivers people, for the candidacy of Sim.
He appealed to the people to understand the need to exercise their civic responsibility, which he said, can only be exercised by collecting their PVCs.
Also speaking, Alabo Douglas Macpepple Jaja, said as traditional rulers, they had attended the GDI sensitisation in their numbers, adding that they would not chicken out from lending their son to enable him emerge as the next Governor of the State.
The group’s Director of Operations, Senibo Donald Afanya Brown, in his contributions, noted that the group was careful in selecting its membership, as they did not want those who were politically disposed in their midst.
In his comments, Alabo Godwin Bupo, expressed joy that Opobo and Nkoro people had demonstrated their readiness to collect their PVCs and were merely waiting for election day to vote for their son, Sim, adding that this was the first time in the political arrangement of the State that Opobo elders and statesmen have come in their numbers for a common cause.
Another member of the group, Alabo Justus Clinton Captain, said in politics, opportunities come and go.
“And for us as Opobians, and particularly for some of us who are Alapo Council members, though we don’t play politics because we are restricted by our constitution from playing politics, we are here today not on any political platform but simply to support our own son whom God has graciously given an opportunity to be the flag bearer of his political party. That is why we are here.
“It is our own decision and conviction to support our son irrespective of his party. Let me put on the simpler side, as far as Opobo is concerned now, we have dissolved all parties into one party which is the ‘Sim Party’.
“However, since everyone is a political animal, when you are in a political environment, you don’t extricate yourself completely. We hope that if he wins, he will bring development to our community.That’s our common prayer”, he said.
Also speaking in support of the PDP guber candidate, Amaopusenibo Adagogo Brown, KSC, said, “We are all political animals, as they say in political philosophy. Even in your homes, there is politics by the way you manage your wife and children to avoid unnecessary rancor.
“And so, we are all politically aware of what is before us. That is why we have put every sentiment aside to actualize what we now call an Opobo Project, our community project because we have attained a reasonable level of political consciousness”.

By: Tonye Nria-Dappa