As calls continue to mount on the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief
\n(Barr) Nyesom Wike to run for the governorship of Rivers State, a former
\nInformation Commissioner in the state, Barrister Emma Okah has urged the
\nopposition All Progressive Congress (APC), to mind its business and let
\nthe Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) strategize ahead of the 2015 elections.<\/p>\n
He argued that the former OBALGA Chairman would not be breaking any law
\nshould he decide to run.<\/p>\n
Speaking in a live radio programme, \u2018Editors Round Table\u2019 on 97.7 FM in
\nPort Harcourt on Monday, Barrister Emma Okah emphasized that the
\nconstitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria does not preclude any
\ncitizen from contesting for office of Governor on the basis of ethnicity,
\nas long as he or she is qualified within the confines of the law.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s look at the legal dimension, the framers of the constitution did
\nnot deny any Nigerian chances of running purely because of ethnic group\u201d
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
On the heated question whether it was right for the incumbent governor
\n(Chibuike Amaechi) who hails from the Ikwerre ethnic extraction, to be
\nsucceeded by another of his kinsmen, Okah described the current
\ndevelopment in the PDP as a product of necessity, heaping the blame on
\nGovernor Amaechi whom he accused of \u2018whipping up ethnic sentiments to
\nantagonize one against the other\u2019.<\/p>\n
He noted that the PDP was facing a contentious time in the state, a
\nsituation he attributed to the \u2018traitorous\u2019 actions of Governor Amaechi
\nand his cohorts. He said under the present circumstance, it would be most
\ndangerous for PDP to allow a candidate who cannot challenge the incumbency
\nof Amaechi.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s look at it from its own peculiarities; PDP in Rivers State is
\nfacing a trying moment because a governor was elected under PDP and
\ncarried it to APC.\u00a0 Amaechi carried with him, a financial warhead to APC
\nand this weakened the PDP\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He slammed the APC of being jittery over a Wike governorship ticket,
\nadding they should mind their business and leave the PDP alone to adopt
\nits winning strategy.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur mandate is to reclaim the Government House which Amaechi took to the
\nAPC.\u00a0 And to do this, PDP must field the best candidate and if that man or
\nwoman comes from Ubima, Ogoni or Kalabari, the party will support that
\ncandidate to win the election\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Okah urged critics of the party to look into history, particularly at what
\ntranspired in neighbouring Imo State prior to the election of Governor
\nRochas Okorocha.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecall that after Udenwa came Ohakim as governor of Imo State.\u00a0 Rochas
\nand Udenwa are from same Orlu Senatorial zone but the party went for
\nRochas because they needed a man who will deliver for them.\u00a0 The same
\nscenario has just presented itself in Rivers State\u201d he said<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As calls continue to mount on the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief (Barr) Nyesom Wike to run for the governorship of Rivers State, a former Information Commissioner in the state,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n