Peterside and Wike
THE choice of who to vote for as the next governor of Rivers State appears to have torn apart the kinsmen of President Goodluck Jonathan in the Ijaw National Congress, an umbrella body of Ijaw people.
The INC members, on Wednesday, barely stopped short of exchanging blows during a press briefing organised to state their position on whether to vote for the All Progressives Congress candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, or the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Nyesom Wike, on Saturday.
A heated argument ensued between some INC executives and other members of the group over the directive by the body to members to vote for Peterside.
The furore attracted the police and managers of the Presidential Hotel in Port Harcourt, venue of the press briefing, even as angry INC members continued to point fingers at the INC president, Chief Boma Obuoforibo.
Some of the members had walked to where the INC president and other executive members of the body were seated and told the leaders that they (INC members) were not part of the resolution to endorse Peterside.
The Financial Secretary of the INC, Eastern Zone, Mr. Frank Hart, read out a communiqué by the umbrella body of Ijaw people, indicating that the INC had resolved to endorse a governorship candidate of Ijaw extraction.
The communiqué indicated that the Ijaw elders had endorsed Peterside as the next governor of Rivers State.
It read, “Following the resolutions and communiqués of the INC Eastern Zone in past programmes held in October 2013, June and September 2014, we hereby reiterate our resolve to endorse a governorship candidate of Ijaw extraction without prejudice to the political party, in the spirit of fairness, good faith and good conscience which have guided Rivers people in electing our past leaders.
“In the light of this and in line with the time-honoured principle of power rotation, the Ijaw National Congress, Eastern Zone, the authentic voice of Ijaw people, Ijaw elders and leaders have endorsed Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside of the APC as preferred, most viable and qualified candidate of all.”
The INC executive, however, refused to allow reactions to the communiqué, a development that angered some of its members, who queried why and how the executive came to the conclusion to endorse Peterside.
One of the members, Mr. Martins Amabipi, maintained that Ijaw people would vote for Wike, who, he said, fought for President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election till the end.
Amabipi said, “Our grievance is that Ijaw people have not sat under INC to endorse Dakuku Peterside. We are still aggrieved about the failure of President Goodluck Jonathan in his re-election bid. We had expected INC to be a voice for Ijaw people, but it has failed.
“The way forward now is for you (journalists) to discountenance whatever statement they have given you because it is not the position of the Ijaws. The way forward is that we are not voting on ethnic lines, we are voting for Nyesom Wike.
“I am an Ijaw man and a stakeholder in Ijawland. What they are doing here is a kangaroo arrangement. The INC president is not in touch with the people. We will fight for whoever fought for our brother Goodluck Jonathan. That is the angle we are coming from.
“Emotionally and spiritually, we are bruised. Jonathan has being the best President, but because he is gentle and from the minority, they used conspiracy to push him out. There was no election. It is Wike who identified with President Jonathan and we will vote him.”
Two policemen led by one A. Yahaya later came into the hall to calm frayed nerves and warned the INC members not to further the peace of the hotel where the briefing held.
Speaking on the incident, the spokesman of INC, Mr. Victor Borubo, said that though he got a text message to attend a press conference, he refused to be part of the arrangement.
Borubo explained that the INC was too precious and sacrosanct to be dragged into such infamy and that he was not aware of what the executives were up to.
CHUKWUDI AKASIKE
