Rivers guber: Ijaw group adopts Wike

A group, Ijaw Pro­gressive Agenda, yesterday rose from an emergency meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and resolved to support the Peoples Democratic Party gover­norship candidate in the state, Mr. Nyesom Wike.

Speaking to newsmen after the meeting, National Presi­dent of the body, Mr. Richard Akinakah, said they had re­solved to look beyond ethnic considerations in the interest of good governance and devel­opment so that the best would emerge to the benefit of the greater number of people.
Akinakah submitted that after the proper captain of a ship was in place to steer it to safety, representative considerations could safely be applied, as entrusting the fate of the ship to capable hands would have averted danger to the vessel.
“Apart from political expe­diency in terms of carrying all ethnic groups in Rivers State along, there is a greater need of ensuring that a capable hand that is electable is given the mandate to wrestle power from the opposition party in the state and no other person is well po­sitioned to do it than Nyesom Wike.
“Again, when the fight to save the party from being erased from the state, follow­ing the jumping of ship by Governor Chibuike Amaechi who abandoned the party un­der whose platform he ascend­ed to power, it was only the bold and hard fighting Wike that was left standing and sal­vaged the party; a reason some of those contending with him have a platform to stand on to agitate.
“While other candidates, some of who do not even know the name of their ward chair­men in the party were busy fighting shy, Wike played his politics and transverse every nook and cranny of the state, putting up structures that today fly the flag of PDP, so he has demonstrated the will to fight and win election for the party.
“Where a candidate comes from does not really matter, but the ability of the person to touch the lives of Rivers people, use their vast resources and apply it prudently so that it would yield the best results for the people to enjoy. Our primary concern should be if the candidate is good and has a developmental agenda for the state. There are other ways of carrying every tribe along, not necessarily by handing power to people who are not ready for it,” he insisted.
Speaking on the threat by Ijaw Elders to dump PDP if the party refused to change Wike with a riverine candidate, he said there was no place power was given to people who did not fight for it.