There is no way the next Governor of Rivers State will be determined by First Lady Patience Jonathan, this is according to leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force, Alhaji Mujahedeen Asari Dokubo.
Asari has warned Patience Jonathan that any attempt to make minister of education Mr Nyesom Wike the next governor of the state would not only affect the political fortune of President Goodluck Jonathan but also the chances of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
Sending out a clear warning to the President's wife, Asari said:
“To make Wike a governor in Rivers State in 2015 is not morally right. All the fellows endorsing him for whatever reason should know that it will injure PDP, it will injure Goodluck Jonathan. If Goodluck’s name is brought into it, that he is in support of the perpetuation of an Ikwerre hegemony in Rivers State, which is not right by population, which is not right under any calculation, it will injure him and PDP.”
In an exclusive interview with Leadership, he said the plan by the first lady to impose Wike on the people was morally wrong in the light of the dominance of the political landscape of the state by the Ikwerre group, to which Wike belongs, in the past 16 years.
It would be recalled Patience Jonathan had ignited a controversy over the governorship ticket of the PDP in the next election in Rivers State on Tuesday when she said she is backing Wike to becoming governor.
She said: “In the case of Rivers State, the First Lady wishes to state categorically that the supervising minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, is the leader of PDP in Rivers State and he enjoys the followership of the people of the State. The First Lady is solidly behind Wike. “The people of Rivers State are also solidly behind Wike and are prepared to follow him. As far as the First Lady is concerned, there is NO SHAKING in Rivers State.”
But Asari has warned that there is "SHAKING", insisting that Wike could not be the next governor of the state in view of the interests of the three ethnic clusters in the state. He said it would amount to political suicide for PDP to field Wike in the next election.
“As far as we all know, there are three ethnic clusters in Rivers State: the Ijaws, the Igbos (Ikwerre is part of the Igbo cluster) and the Ogonis. After Bayelsa was excised from Rivers State, the Igbos have ruled for many years. Odili was an Idoni Igbo; he ruled for eight years. Omehia/Amaechi, who are also Ikwerres, by 2015 would have ruled for more than eight years, making over 16 years,” he explained.
“When you look at that, for somebody to say another Ikwerre man should become governor is wrong. Yes, constitutionally, he has a right to aspire, everybody is free to aspire, but it is not moral, it is not right. Something can be legally right but it might not be morally right.
“So if we are saying there should be justice in Rivers State… if we are crying against domination by others, we should not also oppress other people. The people that morally should be allowed to produce the next governor of Rivers State is the Ogoni cluster made up of the Ogonis proper and the Eleme people.”
Dokubo expressed surprise that Patience Jonathan feigned ignorance of the homogenous nature and political reality in the state by openly identifying with the minister to clinch the top job in the state in 2015.
It would be recalled Patience Jonathan had ignited a controversy over the governorship ticket of the PDP in the next election in Rivers State on Tuesday when she said she is backing Wike to becoming governor.
She said: “In the case of Rivers State, the First Lady wishes to state categorically that the supervising minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, is the leader of PDP in Rivers State and he enjoys the followership of the people of the State. The First Lady is solidly behind Wike. “The people of Rivers State are also solidly behind Wike and are prepared to follow him. As far as the First Lady is concerned, there is NO SHAKING in Rivers State.”
But Asari has warned that there is "SHAKING", insisting that Wike could not be the next governor of the state in view of the interests of the three ethnic clusters in the state. He said it would amount to political suicide for PDP to field Wike in the next election.
“As far as we all know, there are three ethnic clusters in Rivers State: the Ijaws, the Igbos (Ikwerre is part of the Igbo cluster) and the Ogonis. After Bayelsa was excised from Rivers State, the Igbos have ruled for many years. Odili was an Idoni Igbo; he ruled for eight years. Omehia/Amaechi, who are also Ikwerres, by 2015 would have ruled for more than eight years, making over 16 years,” he explained.
“When you look at that, for somebody to say another Ikwerre man should become governor is wrong. Yes, constitutionally, he has a right to aspire, everybody is free to aspire, but it is not moral, it is not right. Something can be legally right but it might not be morally right.
“So if we are saying there should be justice in Rivers State… if we are crying against domination by others, we should not also oppress other people. The people that morally should be allowed to produce the next governor of Rivers State is the Ogoni cluster made up of the Ogonis proper and the Eleme people.”
Dokubo expressed surprise that Patience Jonathan feigned ignorance of the homogenous nature and political reality in the state by openly identifying with the minister to clinch the top job in the state in 2015.
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