Uche Igwe
It is no longer news that President Goodluck
Jonathan and his Peoples Democratic Party are leaving no stone unturned in their
efforts to recapture Rivers State. The President himself said so publicly during
his party’s South-South rally in Benin a few weeks ago. There are many reasons
why the President seems to have special interest and commitment to dislodging
the Rivers State Governor Chibuike Amaechi and his All Progressives
Congress.
The state gave the President the highest number of votes in the South-South zone in 2011 and he will need those votes again in 2015 – that is if he declares to contest. It is also the home state of the First Lady and I understand that she considers it (rightly or wrongly) a natural extension of her political fiefdom.
Thirdly, the President is committed to “teach Amaechi a lesson” by ensuring that he does not produce his (Amaechi) successor. Many observers believe that the President is poised to deploy the full weight of his office in the Rivers governorship election. In the coming weeks, the governorship candidate for the PDP will be made known. The general belief among political observers is that the PDP will be fielding the Minister of State for Education, Chief Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike. The junior minister is expected to announce his resignation from the federal cabinet any moment from now.
Although Wike’s candidature is facing stiff opposition from prominent politicians from the riverine Ijaw areas like Kalabari, Okrika, Bonny and Opobo, the President and his wife are believed to be insisting on him. Many of those who are resisting Wike’s candidature believe that it is improper and unjust for an Ikwerre man to succeed another Ikwerre man in a state with more than 20 ethnic groups, as the incumbent governor is from the same ethnic stock with Wike. It is assumed that the support of the President and his wife will be able to neutralise every opposing force against Wike.
What is now seen as a plot to impose Wike as the governor on Rivers people started about a year ago with a judicial imposition of his followers on the state branch of the PDP through a pronouncement of an Abuja High Court. With his supporters holding sway as Chairman and Secretary of the state PDP, the stage was set for any party contest to favour Wike. Since then, he systematically took over the party structure at all levels and positioned his supporters through his organisation known as the Grassroots Development Initiative. The possibility of Wike’s emergence is still contentious and said to be the reason for the crisis currently engulfing the party. On two occasions, a reconciliation committee mandated by the party at the national level to look at the grievances of the warring members have been disrupted by elements said to loyal to Wike.
Wike expanded his political network under the guise of supporting President Jonathan to fight Amaechi. I have written elsewhere about his “unholy” role as a conflict entrepreneur and political opportunist in the Jonathan-Amaechi saga. However, it will be safe to say that the role was one of the things that shot him to political prominence. He volunteered himself early at a time when the Presidency was searching for ways to prosecute a proxy war against his former boss, Amaechi.
For many people, the governor should be blamed for enthroning and empowering Wike. As a politician, he knows what it means for one person to wield the kind of power he gave to his former Chief of Staff.
As an insider, Wike saw the budding differences between the President and Amaechi and that it would not take too long to manifest. He figured out that President Jonathan was bitter and was willing to be his battle axe.
Although the Rivers Ijaw in the PDP who are trying to get the ticket with Wike may have a valid case, some say that they are simply blowing hot air. Is it not too late in the day? None of the candidates of Kalabari extraction has shown that they are psychologically or even financially prepared to fold their trousers and hit the road against Wike.
Most of them are marking time, waiting to be anointed by the President. Furthermore, no one among the aspirants fits into the mould of the PDP candidates flowing from the precedence set in Osun and Ekiti states recently. The plans allegedly put together for the Rivers election by the PDP, perhaps, do not need gentlemen. Amaechi is popular and has a sizeable war chest. Furthermore, the only qualification Jonathan is likely to seek in the PDP governorship candidate will be someone who can constantly do his bidding.
Observers of Rivers politics insist that Wike’s candidature may trigger massive protest votes from other majority ethnic groups including a section of his own Ikwerre ethnic group. However, in addition to his home base, the minister is said to be relying heavily on other LGAs like Etche, Omuma and Oyigbo. Although a candidate has yet to emerge for the APC in Rivers State, it is likely that Amaechi and his strategists will deploy a political permutation that could neutralise the influence of the President through Wike and retain the state for the party.
The dominant view among the vigilant public is that ethnic sentiments will play a major role in the forthcoming elections in the state. With this in mind, pundits maintain that due to the current political turbulence in the state, going outside the majority ethnic groups for an APC govrnorship candidate will be too risky to manage especially against the heavy weight of the Presidency. Wherever the pendulum swings, the unfolding political events in the coming days and weeks in Rivers State will be fascinating. As the battle for the soul of the state rages on, mine is to watch from the sidelines.
The state gave the President the highest number of votes in the South-South zone in 2011 and he will need those votes again in 2015 – that is if he declares to contest. It is also the home state of the First Lady and I understand that she considers it (rightly or wrongly) a natural extension of her political fiefdom.
Thirdly, the President is committed to “teach Amaechi a lesson” by ensuring that he does not produce his (Amaechi) successor. Many observers believe that the President is poised to deploy the full weight of his office in the Rivers governorship election. In the coming weeks, the governorship candidate for the PDP will be made known. The general belief among political observers is that the PDP will be fielding the Minister of State for Education, Chief Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike. The junior minister is expected to announce his resignation from the federal cabinet any moment from now.
Although Wike’s candidature is facing stiff opposition from prominent politicians from the riverine Ijaw areas like Kalabari, Okrika, Bonny and Opobo, the President and his wife are believed to be insisting on him. Many of those who are resisting Wike’s candidature believe that it is improper and unjust for an Ikwerre man to succeed another Ikwerre man in a state with more than 20 ethnic groups, as the incumbent governor is from the same ethnic stock with Wike. It is assumed that the support of the President and his wife will be able to neutralise every opposing force against Wike.
What is now seen as a plot to impose Wike as the governor on Rivers people started about a year ago with a judicial imposition of his followers on the state branch of the PDP through a pronouncement of an Abuja High Court. With his supporters holding sway as Chairman and Secretary of the state PDP, the stage was set for any party contest to favour Wike. Since then, he systematically took over the party structure at all levels and positioned his supporters through his organisation known as the Grassroots Development Initiative. The possibility of Wike’s emergence is still contentious and said to be the reason for the crisis currently engulfing the party. On two occasions, a reconciliation committee mandated by the party at the national level to look at the grievances of the warring members have been disrupted by elements said to loyal to Wike.
Wike expanded his political network under the guise of supporting President Jonathan to fight Amaechi. I have written elsewhere about his “unholy” role as a conflict entrepreneur and political opportunist in the Jonathan-Amaechi saga. However, it will be safe to say that the role was one of the things that shot him to political prominence. He volunteered himself early at a time when the Presidency was searching for ways to prosecute a proxy war against his former boss, Amaechi.
For many people, the governor should be blamed for enthroning and empowering Wike. As a politician, he knows what it means for one person to wield the kind of power he gave to his former Chief of Staff.
As an insider, Wike saw the budding differences between the President and Amaechi and that it would not take too long to manifest. He figured out that President Jonathan was bitter and was willing to be his battle axe.
Although the Rivers Ijaw in the PDP who are trying to get the ticket with Wike may have a valid case, some say that they are simply blowing hot air. Is it not too late in the day? None of the candidates of Kalabari extraction has shown that they are psychologically or even financially prepared to fold their trousers and hit the road against Wike.
Most of them are marking time, waiting to be anointed by the President. Furthermore, no one among the aspirants fits into the mould of the PDP candidates flowing from the precedence set in Osun and Ekiti states recently. The plans allegedly put together for the Rivers election by the PDP, perhaps, do not need gentlemen. Amaechi is popular and has a sizeable war chest. Furthermore, the only qualification Jonathan is likely to seek in the PDP governorship candidate will be someone who can constantly do his bidding.
Observers of Rivers politics insist that Wike’s candidature may trigger massive protest votes from other majority ethnic groups including a section of his own Ikwerre ethnic group. However, in addition to his home base, the minister is said to be relying heavily on other LGAs like Etche, Omuma and Oyigbo. Although a candidate has yet to emerge for the APC in Rivers State, it is likely that Amaechi and his strategists will deploy a political permutation that could neutralise the influence of the President through Wike and retain the state for the party.
The dominant view among the vigilant public is that ethnic sentiments will play a major role in the forthcoming elections in the state. With this in mind, pundits maintain that due to the current political turbulence in the state, going outside the majority ethnic groups for an APC govrnorship candidate will be too risky to manage especially against the heavy weight of the Presidency. Wherever the pendulum swings, the unfolding political events in the coming days and weeks in Rivers State will be fascinating. As the battle for the soul of the state rages on, mine is to watch from the sidelines.