The Consolidation of the New Rivers Vision Campaign Council for the 2023 election in Rivers State has declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fully complied with the principles of power rotation as enshrined in Article 7, 3(c) of the Nigerian constitution in its choice of its governorship candidate, Siminilayi Fubara.
Spokesman of the Campaign Council, Chief Ogbonna Nwuke who made the declaration in a press release issued Thursday morning in Port Harcourt said that by the action, the PDP in Rivers State complied substantially with the basic principle on power rotation which is enshrined in the Constitution.
He stated that the same could not be said of the PDP at the national level where the party leadership and the presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar had not shown any respect for the fundamental principle of power rotation which ought to see a power shift to the South.
Nwuke’s statement came in response to comments from the Atiku camp in Rivers State, claiming that Wike’s emergence in 2015 after his Ikwerre kinsman, Rotimi Amaechi concluded an 8-year tenor was in contradiction of that principle.
He dismissed the comment saying Leoonu Nwibubasa, whom he described as the spokesperson of the Atiku camp in Rivers State “sounding like a broken record.”
The spokesman of the New Rivers Vision Campaign Council contended that Governor Wike was not running an election and therefore not the subject of contention in the current misunderstanding in the PDP.
Nwuke said; “We have listened to what looks like the tired and uninspiring voice of Nwibubasa who speaks for the Atiku campaign.
“We find it disappointing that our brother who should fly the Rivers flag wherever he is, has sold his conscience and his whole body to the devil”.
He added; “In case Nwibubasa who is sounding like a broken record has forgotten, what is in contention is not what has happened in the past; or what the Rivers people did in the past in choosing Nyesom Wike as their governor after an Ikwerre man presided over affairs of State in Brick House.
“What is in contention, as we speak, is whether Article 7, 3(c) on power rotation is being adhered to in Rivers State. The question is, has the PDP in Rivers State complied substantially with the basic principle on power rotation which is enshrined in our Constitution? The answer is yes.
“Has Alhaji Atiku and his backers shown respect for the fundamental principle on power rotation which ought to see power shift to the South? The answer is a definite no!
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The former member of the House of Representatives, representing Etche/Omuma constituency explained that by the choice of its governorship candidate, the leadership of PDP in Rivers State and Governor Wike, have established and defended the right of the Rivers South East to occupy the Rivers State government house.
“Similarly, the entitlement of the Riverine people, regardless of size, population, and geographical spread, has been respected. This is why there are no agitations in the polity despite efforts of narrow-minded men like Nwibubasa to steer confusion.
“Both Wike and Atiku should be students of contemporary history, the quest for power notwithstanding. Both should offer untainted and constructive leadership sought by our people.
“Both should endeavour to correct apparent mistakes in the decision-making process that Nwibubasa admits were made in the past. Truth is, Wike has set a worthy example of what good leaders should be.
“While the action of Governor Nyesom Wike on power rotation has made him less of a tribal warlord and an ethnic jingoist, the decision by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in this time and age to deny the South of an opportunity to lead this country speaks volumes.
“It has clearly shown the level of contempt that Atiku and his stormtroopers nurse against people who do not come from a particular region in Nigeria.
“The story to tell, which Nwibubasa is busy avoiding, is the story that power has rotated in the Rivers PDP from the Upland to the Riverine areas.
“Try as he can, Nwibubasa cannot wish away the fact that the Rivers people have taken note of this significant development in their democratic adventure which has given a voice to the Rivers minority.
“Wike deserves our praise for his courage in reversing an ugly trend in our ranks which has distorted, or attempts to distort, the principle of natural justice, the sustenance of ethnic balance, and the defense of the doctrine of fairness and equal opportunity,” Nweke said.
