Politics
Wike Deserves Everyone’s Support – Wokekoro
Two-time Commissioner for Culture and Toursim in ex-Governor Peter Odili’s administration, Hon Sunny Wokeror, recently joined the ever –congesting traffic of high profile decampees from the embattled All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State.
A great mobilizer and grassroot politician, Wokekoro was pioneer chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Port Harcourt Local Government Area and the Coordinating Chairman between 1999 and 2003 before joining the APC in the build-up to the 2015 polls.
In this interview with The Tide Political Editor, Victor Tew and Chief Correspondent, Ike Wigodo, he bared his mind on why he dumped the APC, the need to support the Wike administration, and sundry issues.
Excerpts:
Until you reportedly dumped the APC, you have been perceived to have been politically passive, Why?
Well, passiveness and activeness are relative terms. If you are in a system and the leaders of that system did not see or are not comfortable to give you latitude to do what you know best, you don’t force yourself. In the real sense of it, no responsibility was given, nor offered. Even when there were compelling reasons to do so, it was not given for reasons best known to them. So that explains why I appeared passive in APC. But at the starting point of APC,I was saddled with the responsibility of sensitizing PDP members who moved with us to APC. That responsibility was mine, I went round the wards, units and local government areas, convincing people to see reasons to move over to APC. Thereafter, when it was time for more responsibility to be given, I was not considered even when promises were made to that effect. So for me, that probably explained why I was appeared to be passive in APC .
Political observers in the state say you left APC because you were not considered a factor enough to be consider a public responsibility. How true?
Laugh! I am not a new person in politics of Rivers State. As a matter of fact, I was one of the founders of PDP. During the emergence of with dispensation ,I cannot bore you with the rigorous processes I went through as an individual to Abuja to ensure that PDP was founded. Most of those you considered to be active today or are gladiators, some of them were naturally welcomed into PDP by me and in a forum where I was part of. It is just that godfatherism placed them over and above me, otherwise I don’t see them more active or more of a factor to be given responsibility.
You said you were among those who ushered members into PDP. Did that not make you a god father?
No, I wasn’t a god father as at the time of emergence of PDP, we were trying to form the party. You know we metamorphosed from G34 to forming what is known today as PDP. I was G34 coordinator in Port Harcourt Local Government Area, as at that time. Nobody gave us chance, we were all struggling and desirous to make a change, changing from military to civilian administration. At that early stage of the formation of the party, I happened to be like a foot soldier for political leaders. So, when I say I was already there when others came, I mean I was there as somebody who facilitated the registration of the party. We had already registered the party before some aggrieved people from All Peoples Party(APP) came saying that they wanted to belong to PDP. So it is in that context I said I was part of those who welcomed them into PDP. It does not make me a godfather, I am not yet a godfather. I’m still learning.
Having been former chairman of PDP, in Port Harcourt Local Government Area and ex commissioner, for how long will you be learning.
Yes, I was the pioneer chairman of PDP in Port Harcourt and beyond that, I was the coordinating chairman of all the PDP chairmen in Rivers State. After that I became a two-time commissioner in Rivers State. You know why I said I am still learning. One American President once said it is only when you think of death that the brain seizes to expand. That means that learning is a process that takes you all the season of your life time. There are many things there for me to learn. I have just been a commissioner, There are those who are legislators, there are things for me to learn or know about it if I interact with them well. I could learn from them even without being a member of the legislative arm. There are those who have been in higher executive offices like ministers, Governors etc. I could also learn from them. You close the door on yourself when you say you have learnt everything. That is how we get it wrong. In that context I want to say that I am still learning.
Back to where I said, I am not considered as a factor, I do not know where that is coming from. Some time in this business of politics we play in Africa, if where in the western world, people identify you for your couth and brain. what you can do, even though you’re not their friend, they look for you and ask you to do this, not for themselves or for yourself but for the state and the nation. In the case of Africa, you discover that when you have those potentials, there is somebody who decides your faith or will make them consider that you are not a factor. If I wasn’t a factor, how come I was considered and given a responsibility of sensitizing the people to move over to APC? I moved round the state then, I was a factor. How come I was given a responsibility during the build up to the 2015 elections? Then I was a factor, I moved round and campaigned, Suddenly people are saying I left, I was no longer considered a factor to be given a responsibility. So if anybody said I was not a factor, it is left for that person. I have been a factor and will remain a factor as far as God gives me good health and life. If I am not a factor, how come my defection back to PDP is causing a lot of ripples?
Did you think, joining PDP will improve its fortune?
I have been of PDP. Even when I left PDP, in my blood, I was still PDP, and So, I am back to my family. That is the way I see it. I am back to the house I helped to build. I am back to the house that gave all the gladiators in Rivers State the platform to become what they are today. So, everybody can contribute to any system, it is a matter of you rationalizing the impact of that contribution. Obviously, there will be responsibility for me to do, because, I will not add any value for going back to my home if there is nothing I can do to improve their fortune. I will not like to assess myself. I belief there is lot to contribute to the electoral fortune of PDP if no where else, I think in my ward, my unit, and my local government area.
Do you think PDP will comfortably accommodate you against the backdrop of the fact that you worked very hard against the party in 2015.
Well, If you have a leader who is broad minded, who is not myopic in thought and considerations, you have a leader who is not primitive in approach, you will discover his thought is different from that of man who has been in the village all his life and may be coming of out of the village only when he went to school and the rest of thing. Background matters a lot. For Wike and those in PDP are like a family. So, it is like a reunion. It is like coming back home for me and them. Wike is not scared of giving responsibility to people. He identifies your clouth and potentials and gives you responsibility. It is only when you fail him that he will do away with you. But he is not the same person who will identify your potentials and your clouth becomes a threat to him. So, I do not think it will be a problem for me to be absorbed back to the PDP fold. As a matter of fact, I have been absorbed. We are waiting for the formal declaration. The space is enough to accommodate everybody. We need every hand to keep the state moving, we need every hand to ensure peace in the state, we need every hand to stabilize the state; we need every hand to ensure that genuine agitations of the state such as our oil wells are restored to the state. For me, this is beyond political colorization, it should not be PDP business alone. let’s forget how we got to where we are, but injustice was done to this state. It does not matter who did it but, we should fight together as a team to ensure that sanity, justice and what was wrongly taken away are brought back to the state. It is everybody’s business, not governor Wike’s or PDP’s.
How will you access the Wike administration?
It is about two years Governor Wike came on board I have not heard of the perennial complaints of civil servants not paid. It is very annoying that civil servants are not paid after months of work. It was not a good development. I also have not heard of schools being on strike. The educational system is on and working well. Children go to school when they ought to go. For me Wike should be commended .I also notice in most of our roads, that earth machines are working. Having been a member of executive council, I know, performance should be commiserate with what you have. In the past we have a situation where somebody was lucky to have in his disposal a lot of money to do so many things. The lot is not the same with Wike, Generally, Nigerians knows that allocation has dropped drastically because of oil benchmark. We all are aware that internally Generated Revenue (IGR) has also dropped. All these will hamper development. But within the context of finance, that is available to him, he has done the best he could and if the financial situation improves, I think he is going to do more. There nobody that will come on board that will not want to leave a legacy; no governor will want to sit there for eight years and waste his time. He is forward looking, energetic and purposeful. He is determined to lift Rivers State to a greater height. I think he deserves all our supports and that is why I am coming on board to support him in whatever regards he might deem me fit.
As a former Tourism commissioner in Rivers State, do you think the governor has done enough to promote that sector?
The truth of the matter is that since this democratic dispensation, past administrations have not done anything to enhance tourism in the state. I can tell you, the yearly organization of RIVFEST does not in any way solidify tourism potentials of the state. We have tourist sites we need to develop that will cost people yearly to come and see. All the past administrations did nothing in that regard as far as I am concern. When I was in office, my chief executive officer, Dr Peter Odili, charged me to go out there and get investors, I went out in search of investors, I travelled to South Africa more than thrice, I brought an investor, that was to build a one stop shopping mall at the old Dr Obi Wali complex. But it was messed up. The investor got angry and left with his investment and money. When he was not getting the response he ought to have gotten. If that had happened, it would have been better than what we have there today. What we have planned and wanted to achieve then would have given us cinema and a shopping mall, all in one place; a one stop shopping mall where everything you need will be. I belief the government of the state needs who has this idea, who can motivate it, encourage it and make the governor see that it profits in investing in tourism. Tourism investment is not something you have return immediately. It is a long term project. After investment, you need to do advert, both locally and internationally, you need somebody who has drive, acumen and idea to convince him that you cannot lose if you invest. I belief this government will do something about tourism development. We have a lot of sites we can develop which can be a revenue earner for the state. When I was in government, I happen to run into the master plan of Issac Boro park. That park is totally underutilized. The concept of the Issac Boro pack was abandoned and that was what I was trying to do. We also tried to build boat race sites. Go to some of the water fronts, acquire then, and develop them into international boat race site that will earn the state a lot of revenue.
The lawmaker representing Ipokia/Idiroko Constituency in the Ogun State House of Assembly, Bisi Oyedele, says Nigerian legislature, especially at the state level, has not ceased to be an appendage of the executive because the constitution which guarantees its financial autonomy has not been strictly adhered to.
Hon. Oyedele argued that a legislature that goes cap in hand to the executive cannot perform it functions optimally.
He spoke at a symposium organised by the Forum for Governance Leadership and Value (FGLV) in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The symposium with the theme: “Enhancing The Value Of The Legislature In Nigeria’s Democratic Process”, was put together in honour of the Senator representing Ogun West Senatorial District, Senator Adeola Olamilekan, who was decorated as the legislative icon in Nigeria.
“The constitution is clear about legislative autonomy in section 121 of the constitution. It states clearly how legislature should be autonomous, independent. Until when that is done in Nigeria, the legislature will continue to become an appendage of the executive.
“I must tell you that if there’s strict adherence to the dictate of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, you will begin to see changes in the operationalities of the houses of assembly.
“That’s very important because when you are not empowered financially, when everything you want to do, you have to raise a memo to the governor, we want this; you’re more like at the service of the governor, of which the constitution doesn’t put us under the governor”, Hon. Oyedele said.
He described the legislature as the bedrock of democracy, saying lawmakers should be the ones speaking for the people.
Delivering the lecture, a university don, Prof. Moshood Omotosho, lamented that corruption and lobbying by powerful political ‘cabals’ are major obstacles to effective lawmaking in Nigeria.
The professor of International Relations at the Obafemi Awolowo University, said despite the challenges, the crucial role of the legislature in stabilizing democratic governance through law-making, oversight promoting good governance, amongst others must not be undermined.
He said, “The legislature’s ability to make effective laws can be affected by factors like political gridlock, corruption, and the influence of special interest groups, i.e., lobbying by powerful political mafia in the state, major power brokers, and political cabals.
“The relationship between the executive and legislature can be strained, leading to conflicts that hinder effective governance due to differing priorities and power struggles,” Prof. Moshood explained.
A Federal Commissioner, Public Complaints Commission, Ogun State, Morakinyo Akinleye, who represented Senator Adeola, applauded his strides in lawmaking and empowerment of his constituents.
“The legislature is the closest arm of government to the people. Hon. Solomon Adeola should be commended for his understanding of grassroots needs and his effective committee management,” Akinleye stated.
The convener, Bolaji Adeniji, disclosed that the purpose of the symposium was to have a conversation on how the legislature can add value to the society.
The Leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Rabi’u Kwankwaso has accused the members of the party that recently defected to the All Progrssives Congress (APC) of betraying the party and the masses that brought them to power.
He spoke at his Bompai residence in Kano State, when he received supporters of Senator Abdulraham Sumaila (Kano South) who recently declined to defect with him (Kawu Sumaila) to the APC.
“Kano South is a lesson. Voters rejected spaghetti, N200 and Atamfa (wrappers) and were patient to vote for the NNPP. But those who won the election on the party’s ticket decided to abandon the masses to join those who do not have the masses at heart but are only after what they will get for themselves and their families” he stated.
“There is no worse political sin than leaving the party that gave you the opportunity and support but later you abandoned the party. This is the highest level of betrayal,” Senator Kwankwaso added.
Senator Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State, appreciated the loyal members for “taking the courage to return to their base,” while predicting that all those who betrayed the Kwankwasiyya Movement would regret their political actions sooner or later.
“Fighting Kwankwasiyya is not an easy task, they will not know until when they engage in the fight,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the supporters, Muntari Fararawa, said that they came to his home to inform him of their refusal to join the APC with their senator.
“We thought it wise to return home so as to continue to propagate the ideals of the Kwankwasiyya Movement and the NNPP as well as to contribute our quota to the development of our dear state.
“We hope that we will be accepted back and reintegrated into the Kwankwasiyya Movement and the NNPP to enable us to enjoy the same rights and privileges as other members,” he said.
Business mogul and elder statesman, Prince Arthur Eze, has hailed President Bola Tinubu for his historic visit to Anambra State and the Southeast zone, describing it as a clear message of healing and reconciliation to the Igbo.
The business magnate stated this in a letter he sent to the president, a copy of which was made available to newsmen, upon his return to Nigeria from Venezuela, where he had gone for a business endeavour.
“I have seen the joy and excitement elicited amongst our people by your visit to Anambra State.
“To this end I write to thank you specially for the visit to Anambra and by extension to the Southeast,” Prince Eze wrote.
He noted that the visit has gone a long way in healing the civil war wounds of South Easterners and assured the people that there is hope for proper reconciliation and reintegration.
“Today, it has entered the annals of Nigeria’s chequered history that you are the first President of the country, from the Southwest who has taken this historic initiative to visit the Southeast after the bitter civil war with a clear message of reconciling the Igbo with other parts of the nation.
“Nigerians have not forgotten the bitter civil war and its painful relics with its tribal cleavages and dimensions. This visit by you is therefore a giant leap forward and a clear signal that the wounds of that unfortunate era is healable.
“Your pronouncements during the visit are vivid indications that you are indeed a nationalist and a bridge builder who has risen above tribal dogmatism.
“Your actions by this singular visit has sent a message of hope of complete reintegration and reconciliation to the Igbo race.
“This is monumental and a generational landmark that we would continue to cherish and value,” he said.
Prince Eze also expressed appreciation to the president for appointing Igbo sons and daughters into key positions in his government.
“We are appreciative to the genuine concern you have always shown as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for the cause of the Igbos. You have appointed Igbo sons and daughters to key positions as a mark of recognition for the entire Igbo people of this country.
“You also gave us important ministerial positions which no President before you had done, signaling your appreciation of the people of Southeast extraction.
“I also commend your robust appreciation of the laudable economic and infrastructural development projects accomplished by the Anambra State government under the able leadership of the amiable Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo. Soludo is a genuine and sincere personality, and every Igboman will support him. Be rest assured that he will ensure massive support for you from the Southeast in the 2027 elections”.
While describing President Tinubu as a true nationalist, Prince Eze pledged his support and those of other Igbo for the re-election of the president in 2027.
“I therefore make bold to say that Igbos, wherever they may reside in this country now have very concrete and genuine reasons to support you and work actively for your re-election in 2027 so that you can do more for the Igbos.
“Once again, I thank you immensely, my dear President, Dike Si’mba!” Prince Eze said.