Politics
Rivers PDP Boss Explains Guber Candidate’s Emergence …APC Suffers More Losses
The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Rivers State, Ambassador Desmond Akawor has explained the circumstances that led to the emergence of Amaopusenibo Siminialayi Fubara as the candidate of party for next year’s gubernatorial election in the state.
Speaking recently in his office while receiving two groups of defectors from the All Progressives Congress, APC, Ambassador Akawor said that the choice of Amaopu – Senibo Fubara was the best thing that happened to Rivers people as he (Fubara) does not have ‘boys’ nor belong to any particular group in the state.
The party chairman explained that the choice of the candidate was dictated by fairness, equity and justice to all sections of the state, adding that while it was imperative to shift power to the riverine area of the state, only the Rivers South East Senatorial District was yet to occupy the governorship position since 1999.
“In the Rivers West, Dr. Peter Odili had taken it and so Rivers West should be eliminated for fairness. For the Rivers East, Sir Celestine Omehia, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and Nyesom Wike have emerged from that district, so Rivers East was also ruled out. The focus now was on Rivers South East district which comprises Ogoni (Khana, Gokhana, Tai and Eleme), Oyigbo, Opobo/Nkoro and Andoni.
“Since all the people that have emerged from Rivers West and East were from the upland part, and remember the APC had taken their governorship candidate from the riverine, we decided that our candidate must also come from the riverine part of Rivers South East Senatorial district”.
He disclosed that the issue of a successor to Chief Nyesom Wike came up on the eve of the Governor’s birthday when the elders of the state came to pay him a surprise birthday visit, explaining that the issue followed the elders’ call on the Governor to vie for the position of president of the country.
“The Elders’ Forum met in the house of Chief (Ferdinand) Anabraba and agreed to go and wish our Governor happy birthday by 12 midnight.
“We also agreed that night that the Governor had done all he needed to do in the State and that we think he is a product we can sell to the nation. So we drafted a letter to wish him happy birthday and included two clauses there, urging him to run for the presidency.
“When we got to his (Governor) house, it was already past 12 midnight. We woke him up and handed the letter over to him. He read it and saw the clause where we said he should run for president. He said you people say I should run for the presidency, let us settle home first. You people should decide who should be the governor”.
He disclosed that out of those who wanted to be governor, seven of them were at the meeting and they were told to go and choose one person from among themselves who would run for the position of governor, but they couldn’t do so.
“So what we did was that we called one of our Lawyers, former NBA Chairman, Chief OCJ Okocha to draft a form of an agreement that if at the end of the day you are not the person selected you will be willing to work with whoever will be selected, and everybody signed. As we were getting to the primary, the governor invited the Elders’ forum and said now we have reached the peak of the problem, what do we do?
“So we now asked who were the candidates that collected the forms from the riverine of South East? They were Amaopusenibo Siminialayi Fubara and Tele Ikuru, former Deputy Governor, while the upland people were Olaka Worgu, Senator Lee Maeba, Dr Pidomson and kamalu, Comissioner for finance. These were upland so automatically they were eliminated and, of course, Sim Fubara and Tele Ikuru, (who is the cousin to Secondus who was also eliminated). And it remained only two of them, Commissioner for Finance and Accountant-General. The elders then asked the two of them to go inside and decide who should go and Sim Fubara became the choice’’.
Speaking separately Hon. Ogbonna Nwuke and Chief David Briggs said they had come to introduce their brothers and colleagues who have indicated interest to leave the APC and rejoin the PDP.
Hon. Ogbonna Nwuke said as information managers, the decampees would join forces with those of them who are already in the party to provide robust platform for the PDP to disseminate information and demanded that they be provided with timely information from the party leadership.
On his part, Chief Briggs said he was bringing to the PDP, great politicians who had made the APC in the area stronger, promising that they would deploy their experience as political juggernauts towsrds strengthening the PDP..
Leading the groups of defectors who visited the PDP Secretariat to renounce their membership of the APC were a one time Commissioner in the state and former governorship aspirant on the platform of the PDP, Chief David Briggs and another one time Commissioner and former Federal Lawmaker, Chief Ogbonna Nwuke.
While the group led by Chief Briggs comprised of prominent APC members from Kalabari land, the one that was led by Chief Nwuke was made up of indigenous newspaper proprietors who were members of the APC.
The Rivers State PDP boss commended the decampees for taking the bold step, adding that they had come at the right time.
Amb. Akawor who reminded them that the PDP is a household name in the state said the party is in the DNA of every Rivers person, noting that the present administration led by Governor Nyesom Wike has achieved so much for Rivers people in terms of development even when no one gave him a chance.
Speaking separately, Hon. Nwuke and Chief Briggs said they had come to introduce their brothers and colleagues who had indicated interest to leave the APC and rejoin the PDP.
Hon. Nwuke said as information managers, the decampees would join forces with those of them who are already in the party to provide robust platform for the PDP to disseminate information and requested that they be provided with timely information from the party leadership.
On his part, Chief Briggs said he was bringing to the PDP great politicians who were the strength of APC in the area, promising that they would deploy their experience as political stalwarts towards strengthening the PDP.
By: Opaka Dokubo
The former two-term governor went down memory lane to recall how they founded the APC but were used and dumped.
In his words, “…those calling on us to join APC, we have agreed to join the APC but on clear agreement that protects and respects the interest of my party, NNPP and my political movement, Kwankwasiyya. No state where you go that you don’t have NNPP and Kwankwasiyya. We have gubernatorial candidates, senatorial candidates and others.
“We are ready to join APC under strong conditions and promises. We will not allow anyone to use us and later dump us.
“We were among the founding fathers of the APC and endured significant persecution from various security agencies while challenging the previous administration.
“Yet when the party assumed power, we received no recognition or appreciation for our sacrifices, simply because we didn’t originate from their original faction.
“We are not in a hurry to leave the NNPP; we are enjoying and have peace of mind. But if some want a political alliance that would not disappoint us like in the past, we are open to an alliance. Even if it is the PDP that realised their mistakes, let’s enter an agreement that will be made public,” Sen. Kwankwaso stated.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has dismissed long-standing claims that he once sought to extend his tenure in office, insisting he never pursued a third term.
Speaking at the Democracy Dialogue organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation in Accra, Ghana, Chief Obasanjo said there is no Nigerian, living or dead, who can truthfully claim he solicited support for a third term agenda.
“I’m not a fool. If I wanted a third term, I know how to go about it. And there is no Nigerian, dead or alive, that would say I called him and told him I wanted a third term,” the former president declared.
Chief Obasanjo argued that he had proven his ability to secure difficult national goals, citing Nigeria’s debt relief during his administration as a much greater challenge than any third term ambition.
“I keep telling them that if I could get debt relief, which was more difficult than getting a third term, then if I wanted a third term, I would have got it too,” he said.
He further cautioned against leaders who overstay in power, stressing that the belief in one’s indispensability is a “sin against God.”
On his part, former President Goodluck Jonathan said any leader who failed to perform would be voted out of office if proper elections were conducted.
Describing electoral manipulation as one of the biggest threats to democracy in Africa, he said unless stakeholders come together to rethink and reform democracy, it may collapse in Africa.
He added that leaders must commit to the kind of democracy that guarantees a great future for the children where their voices matter.
He said: “Democracy in Africa continent is going through a period of strain and risk collapse unless stakeholders came together to rethink and reform it. Electoral manipulation remains one of the biggest threats in Africa.
“We in Africa must begin to look at our democracy and rethink it in a way that works well for us and our people. One of the problems is our electoral system. People manipulate the process to remain in power by all means.
“If we had proper elections, a leader who fails to perform would be voted out. But in our case, people use the system to perpetuate themselves even when the people don’t want them.
“Our people want to enjoy their freedoms. They want their votes to count during elections. They want equitable representation and inclusivity. They want good education. Our people want security. They want access to good healthcare. They want jobs. They want dignity. When leaders fail to meet these basic needs, the people become disillusioned.”
The dialogue was also attended by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Sokoto diocese of Catholic Church among others who all stressed that democracy in Africa must go beyond elections to include accountability, service, and discipline.
The Rivers State House of Assembly yesterday resumed plenary session after a six-month state of emergency imposed on the state by President Bola Tinubu elapsed on Wednesday midnight.
President Bola Tinubu had lifted the emergency rule on September 17, with the Governor of the state, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the state assembly asked to resume duties on September 18.
The plenary was presided over by the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule, at the conference hall located within the legislative quarters in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The conference hall has served as the lawmakers’ temporary chamber since their official chamber at the assembly complex on Moscow Road was torched and later pulled down by the state government.
The outgone sole administrator of the state, Ibok-Ete Ibas, could not complete the reconstruction of the assembly complex as promised.
Recall that on March 18, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers following the prolonged political standoff between Fubara and members of the House of Assembly loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
He subsequently suspended the governor, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and lawmakers for six months and installed a sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.), to manage the state’s affairs.
The decision sparked widespread controversy, with critics accusing the president of breaching the Constitution.
However, others hailed the move as a necessary and pragmatic step.
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