Rivers Politics: Rotation of power, issue in public discourse, not Wike

Rivers Politics: Rotation of power, issue in public discourse, not Wike

The Consolidation of the New Rivers Vision Campaign Council has flayed comments that are emanating from the Atiku camp, saying power rotation is the issue on the front burner of Rivers politics, and not how Governor Nyesom emerged as the State’s Chief Executive.

Apparently suggesting that Dr. Leoonu Nwibubasa  who speaks for the Atiku campaign may be lacking focus, Chief Nwuke, Spokesman of the Consolidation of the New Rivers Vision Campaign Council reminded him that “Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State is not running an election.”

The Campaign Council said in a statement issued in Port Harcourt late Tuesday night that Leoonu Nwibubasa is “sounding like a broken record.”

“We have listened to what looks like the tired and uninspiring voice of Nwibubasa who speaks for the Atiku campaign”, the statement said, “We  find it disappointing that our brother who should fly the Rivers flag wherever he is, has sold his conscience and his whole body to the devil.”

Nwuke noted, “In case Nwibubasa who is sounding like a broken record has forgotten, what is in contention is not what has happened in the past; or what the Rivers people did in the past in choosing Nyesom Wike as their governor, after an Ikwerre man presided over affairs of State in Brick House.

“What is in contention, as we speak, is whether Article 7, 3(c) on power rotation is being adhered to. The question is, has the PDP in Rivers State complied substantially with the basic principle on power rotation which is enshrined in our Constitution? The answer is yes.

“Have Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his backers shown respect for the fundamental principle on power rotation which ought to see power shift to the South? The answer is a definite no!”

There are three senatorial districts in Rivers State.

Statistics show that while the Rivers West and the Rivers East have produced governors, the Rivers South East has not since power returned to civilians in 1999.

“In Rivers State, the right of the Rivers South East to occupy Brick House has been established and defended by the party under the leadership of Governor Wike”, Nwuke stressed.

“Similarly, the entitlement of the Riverine people, regardless of size, population and geographical spread, has been respected.

“This is why there are no agitations in the polity despite efforts of narrow-minded men like Nwibubasa to steer confusion.

“Both Wike and Atiku should be students of contemporary history, the quest for power notwithstanding.

“Both should offer untainted and constructive leadership sought by our people.

“Both should endeavour to correct apparent mistakes in the decision making process that Nwibubasa admits were made in the past.

“Truth is, Wike has set a worthy example of what good leaders should be”, the Rivers PDP revealed, explaining that Governor Wike has on a comparative basis demonstrated a better understanding of issues than Nwibubasa’s presidential candidate.

“While the action of Governor Nyesom Wike on power rotation has made him less of a tribal warlord and an ethnic gingoist” the Campaign Council pointed out, “the decision by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in this time and age to deny the South of an opportunity to lead this country, speaks volumes.

Strangely, Atiku hasn’t done anything about a quest by a section of the party who are asking for Iyorchia Ayu, National Chairman of the party to step aside.

This segment of the PDP are insisting party leaders should allow a Southerner to occupy the office that Ayu currently controls.

The G5, a prominent group of Governors that are insisting on the need to create a level of regional balance in the sharing of powerful offices in the party has not given up its quest.

The Campaign Council in Rivers said its reaction that it believes that Atiku and his backers only have contempt for people from a particular section of the country.

“It has clearly shown the level of contempt that Atiku and his stormtroopers nurse against people who do not come from a particular region in Nigeria”, the statement observed.

“The story to tell, which Nwibubasa is busy avoiding, is the story that power has rotated in the Rivers PDP from the Upland to the Riverine areas.

“Try as he can, Nwibubasa cannot wish away the fact that the Rivers people have taken note of this significant development in their democratic adventure which has given a voice to the Rivers minority.

“Wike deserves our praise for his courage in reversing an ugly trend in our ranks which has distorted, or attempts to distort, the principle of natural justice, the sustenance of ethnic balance and the defence of the doctrine of fairness and equal opportunity”, the Rivers PDP added.