No fewer than 20 groups have signed up for the 50,000-man rally planned for next month by the youths and students wing of the Eastern Delta People Association (EDPA). The rally is to draw support for a riverine successor to Governor Rotimi Amaechi, writes PRECIOUS DIKEWOHA
The youths and students wing of the Eastern Delta Peoples Association (EDPA), the umbrella body of Ijaws in Rivers State, believes it is time for Rivers State to have a governor from the riverine area. The upland part of the state will by next have been in charge for 16 years.
Next month, the youths and students will hold a 50,000- man rally to drum support for this cause. Twenty groups have signed to be part of the rally. Some of them are: the eastern zone of the Ijaw Youth Council, the Ijaw Project 2015, the Rivers Coalition, the Ijaw Youth Mandate, the Ogoni Alliance, the Etche Brothers Assembly, the Ikwerre People’s Alliance, the Ekpeye Assembly, the Eleme People Assembly, the Wakirike Youth Congress and the Kalabari Youth Front.
Speaking at a news conference after the inauguration of the EDPA youths and students wing in Port Harcourt, the spokesman of the wing, Mr. Kingsley Adonis Pepple, said the
rally is to demand their right to produce the next governor of Rivers State. He said the purpose of the rally is to demonstrate the unity of the Ijaws in the 2015 governorship bid and to mobilise support of all fair- minded and unity loving citizen to support the cause for the emergence of a Rivers governor of Ijaw extraction.
Pepple noted that two former governors and eight other highly respected dignitaries would speak at the rally.
He added that the rally would be peaceful.
He said: “The fifty thousand man match will hold at the historic Isaac Adaka Boro Park. This place bears meaning to all Ijaws worldwide. We are riverine and creek dwellers. We have concluded plans to organise this rally to press forward our resolve to produce the next governor of Rivers State come 2015. We spread across ten of the twenty-three Local Government Areas of Rivers State. “EDPA has already collected not less than twenty-five thousand signatures endorsing the rally and more persons are expressing support for the emergence of a Riverine Ijaw governor of Rivers State.
“Twenty groups have also expressed support and solidarity with the Eastern Delta Peoples Association. Believe me, two former governors and eight other highly-respected dignitaries of the state are billed to speak at the unity rally scheduled for October in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State capital.”
Chairman, Steering Committee of the EDPA, Elder Lawrence Jumbo, who was at the briefing, said the EDPA is an umbrella body of socio political organisation of Rivers Ijaw communities spread across ten LGAs of Rivers State.
He said: “Our focus is to pursue the socio-political and economic integration and advancement of the creek dwellers of the State. Our leaders have agreed with us and also told us that upland people who have honourably participated twice since the advent of the current political dispensation in 1999 and fully supported by Ijaws will now allow our people in good faith to produce, occupy and serve Rivers State as governors for the permissible two terms in office. We ask for the same measure of friendship and support that we have freely given in the past, to enable a daughter or son of our challenged locality to occupy the Brick House and give adequate attention to our plight.
“We shall be promoting injustice and exclusion if another son or daughter from the hinterland insists to occupy the seat of government in the state for another eight years, making twenty-four years of uninterrupted takeover of Brick House. We commend other organisations and groups within the riverine communities that exist across the three senatorial districts of the state, who have openly thrown their support behind Rivers Ijaws through EDPA either in spoken words, written letters and actions taken in pursuit of this worthy venture.
“We have seen different forms of manoeuvring, selling of outright lies, distortion of history and inducements to deny rivers Ijaws the same opportunity that we freely gave to our brothers in the past. Their plan is to erase us out of the political equation of Rivers State. Our leaders, sons and daughters have agreed not to reject any money or gift offered to gain their support by these agents of disunity and hatred, simply because the item can be of service to them at some point. On 2015 polls, we have resolved to support a Rivers Ijaw candidate. We, therefore, encourage all men of goodwill, lovers of justice, equity and unity to keep pumping in the money as possible to support our economy. The vote of the people of Rivers State is not for sale.”
He added that rampant financial inducement and offer of future political offices and contracts have been used to gradually trigger extremism in the society.
Jumbo said: “Back to the era of frequent recording of politically related crimes, this is not a welcome development and we must do our best to resist violence and other vices that disrupts the peace of our people. We admonish our youths to avoid all unlawful acts. Our upland brothers held power for sixteen years creditably while the rivers Ijaws honourably offered our support in full. It is only fair and just to lend same enjoyed friendship and support to the people of the riverine communities come 2015.
“In the coming weeks and months, political parties shall commence their standard flag bearer selection processes, we, therefore, remind the national and state leaders of the respective parties to remember that a social debt is owed to the people of the River Ijaws with respect to governorship of Rivers State. It is only but fair to offset this existing social debt. A candidate of the Ijaws extraction definitely settles the civil debt owed the people of the riverine. Luckily, Rivers Ijaws can be found in the three senatorial districts of the state.
“We must at all times show our well known spirit of accommodation of others and our unity in diversity and continue to coexist in happiness. This is the most important service we owe to our people and ancestors. This will mean a big win for the people of Rivers State. It’s a consideration that will pacify all agitations, join new hands in friendship and strengthen existing relationships.
“This is a panacea that will stabilise our polity, save lives and help more of our people to live free of fears. This is the agenda that Rivers people pray and shall vote to uphold come 2015.”
