Excerpts: We have a new government. Judging from the signals from President Muhammadu Buhari, do you think his government can fulfill the numerous campaign promises? I will say as a founding member of the PDP, I may not be happy that my party lost at the presidential poll. Having said that, it was obvious that the PDP made several mistakes that cost us the election. President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience did a lot of things wrong that cost us the elections. The engagement of the likes of Femi Fani-Kayode who brought in the hate campaign was bad. We lost a lot of favours. Patience Jonathan came with her own campaigns that insulted the North. Rather than support the government, there was a gang up. Back home in Rivers state, Mr. President and his wife imposed an Ikwere man on us. That made us sad. There was a lot of disconnect. Looking at Buhari and APC, I will assess them based on what is happening. What I have observed is that President Buhari is taking his time to assemble his team. I know he is investigating all those he wants to appoint. That may take some time. Some aspect is what played out at the National Assembly. It is like the story of Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves. They have gotten the loot and it is time to share the loot. APC is an amalgamation of political parties and the civil societies which makes it six groups. They all came together and formed APC because of the impunity and recklessness with which some government officials during Jonathan were running the country. What I have observed is that the North has come together. They are trying to reduce the grip of Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the government. That is why they do not want anybody recommended by Tinubu to occupy any key position in the National Assembly. The North may think they have succeeded. The way they are going is very dangerous. Yes, the North might have reduced the power of Tinubu. But they must compensate him adequately in another way. He could be a spoiler. These are some of the things that have played out. We can see that Nigeria is beginning to change in many ways. Nigerians must be patient and give Buhari time to work. Buhari has a lot of experience in governance. He will put this into use. Before Buhari came in, there were several mines that were planted. He needs to settle down. The eagle has brought out its leg, but it has not landed. Let us see how it will land. Don’t you think the North may have succeeded already in clipping the wings of Tinubu? To me, Tinubu is a tactician and very experienced. But he made a small mistake. The earlier he corrects that, the better for him. When a kingmaker installs a king, he runs away. As a prince from a ruling house, we were taught that the moment a new king is crowned, other princes should run away. Otherwise, the king will use you to test his power. This is idiom that is known in the palace. When a new president emerges, you do not refer to yourself as the national leader of the party. There cannot be two leaders. Tinubu still styled himself as the national leader that does not exist. Tinubu, who is the godfather of Lagos and the South-west, should be treated with care. He is the bride. If you do not treat him well, he can swing. In 2011, Jonathan courted him and got votes from Lagos State. After the elections, Jonathan wanted to clip the wings of Tinubu. We all saw how it played out. APC cannot afford to get what Jonathan got. They should remember that PDP is waiting by the corner to take over. Are you comfortable with the current sharing of power and how the South-south has been left out? Do you suspect that it could lead to an uprising? As a leader from the Niger Delta, I know that this is our trying period. Some just ruled and left. Every other region might think that our son did so much for us even when he did not do anything. That is why I appreciate the faction of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara. They are insisting that other positions should be zoned to areas that have been left out. The South-South has the party chairman, but from experience, the chairman might not be allowed to stay. The South-South is left out. Let me tell you. Today, the Amnesty Programme is in a mess. Those sent abroad for training have not been paid. These are militants they have not paid. The possibility of them coming back to cause problems is visible. The senator from Edo who would have contested for a key position in the Senate fizzled out. If Magnus Abe from Rivers State had won, he would have vied for the senate presidency. But you know, there was no election in Rivers State. I pray that by the time the government is structured, they will factor in the interest of the Niger Delta. The season of Boko Haram might soon end, but I fear that terrorists may change gear in the Niger Delta. To prevent that, Buhari needs to have people from Niger Delta in his government that can downplay the threats. That is the only way we can contain what may likely come from the Niger Delta. Prior to the general elections, Rivers state witnessed the highest number of politically-motivated killings. It appears the killing spree has not stopped… If you have been following me up, you will know that these are the things I predicted long ago. I said these things would happen if we allow Nyensom Wike to be the arrowhead of PDP in Rivers State. People in Rivers State are PDP people. Wike is from a zone that has ruled and he wanted to get it by all means. In the course of that, there was violence. If you go to the State House of Assembly, the people there are either ex-militants involved in crime. You can see the characters that constitute the new government. These people cannot do anything. I am a PDP member, but I did not support Wike during the elections. Till this day, I will not support him. For me, there was no election in Rivers State. What we had there was violence and the results were written. There was no voting. People just sat somewhere and wrote the results. On the day of the election, people were beheaded. If not for the JTF commander and the then police commissioner, we would have had bloodbath in Rivers State. They checkmated arms and reduced the violence. Going forward, what solutions are you proffering? The same set of people that caused crisis in the state in 2003 has ganged up to change the agreement we had that the governorship position must rotate. Until we have truth and justice, God may not forgive us. Whoever that has killed must be paid back. We know the judiciary had not done well. The international community is looking at Rivers state and something needs to be done.
Click photo to download; but you lied to me by Expdona aka finish gravity
Expdonaloaded blog;Click the photo to download aboki wey d suya by Expdona aka finish gravity
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