As the 2015 governorship ambition of Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, further deepens the political tension, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, takes a fresh look at the Rivers State’s political situation and reports that it may require unforeseen intervention to resolve the riddle
Since things fell apart between Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, observers, who have been following the political footpaths of the minister, especially his growing friendship with the country’s first family, have speculated on his future political roles in Rivers.
Although such observers argued clearly that Wike would most likely be one of Mr. President’s jokers in his alleged bid to control the politics of the oil-rich South-South state, not many reckon with the pace the 2015 governorship tussle in the state is going. What was easily discernible right from the onset was that Wike has won the heart of President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan.
Even some insiders in the People’s Democratic Party in the state, who relied on the once cosy relationship between Wike and Amaechi, when they served as political children of former governor Peter Odili, had insisted that the face-off between Amaechi and Wike would be resolved eventually and that it would never degenerate to an open political battle between the governor and the minister.
To this set of people, according to Mr. Wuzo Chume, a grassroots political leader, the belief was that the governor and Wike would soon be reconciled by the elders.
Chume told The Nation in Port-Harcourt recently that those of them who doubted the suggestion that the battle line was already drawn, however, got the message during the well attended recent wedding of a member of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Evans Bipi and Rhoda Sika. At that wedding, attended by the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, Chume recalled, “we were all shocked when the First Lady not only praised the roles allegedly played by the minister to high heavens but also described him as the uniting force in Rivers politics.”
The President’s wife, who was the mother of the day at the event, said it was Wike that made it possible “for various groups in the state to unite.”
For example, Chume recalled, ” Mrs Jonathan pointed out that her presence and that of former governors of the state at the event was made possible by the minister.”
Mrs Jonathan had said, “I grew up in Rivers State, but I have never seen a gathering of the movers and shakers of this state (Rivers) in this way. When I say I love Wike, people don’t understand. If not for him, I would not have this opportunity to be here.
“It is good to be good. Both Rivers and Bayelsa are one because Bayelsa was created out of the old Rivers State and nobody can separate the two states. But the people must come together in peace and speak with one voice.
“Wike has brought us together and let us thank him and I doff my hat for him (Wike) and I thank Rivers people too,” she said.
The referred former governors of the state, who attended the wedding with Dame Jonathan, The Nation learnt, were Dr. Peter Odili, Chief Rufus Ada George and Celestine Omehia.
After that public endorsement by the First Lady, at the time the President and Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, were embroiled in serious political battles for the soul of Rivers State politics, it has become easier to guess where Wike would fit into in the complex political chessboard.
So, when recently, an Abuja High Court sacked Chief Godpower Ake-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) executive in Rivers State, and enthroned Chief Felix Obuah and Walter Ibibia Opuene as the authentic state Chairman and Secretary respectively, it became more obvious, even to sceptics that the battle line has finally been drawn and that Wike is poised to stand up at the centre of the political theatre of Rivers to dare his erstwhile political associate, Governor Amaechi.
It is common knowledge that Obuah and Opuene, known loyalists of Wike, have been associated with endless political battles with Amaechi over the control of the state’s party structure before the 2015 general elections. Their ascension to the throne therefore means the ascension of their godfather in the running of PDP in the state. This will however depend on how Amaechi, the governor, would play the political chess.
It would be recalled that the Court ruling came following a suit instituted by Felix Obuah who claimed that he and Opuene were both duly elected as Chairman and Secretary respectively at the State congress held in March, 2012 by a committee set up by the headquarters of the party.
Part of the reliefs, claimed by the appellants, all of which the Court granted, include “an order directing the party headquarters to swear them in as Chairman and Secretary respectively and all others duly elected into the State committee at the authentic State congress held on the 17th of March 2012.”
The court also granted an order of perpetual injunction restraining the party from appointing Chief Ake or any other person instead of Obuah and Opuene as Chairman and Secretary of Rivers State PDP.
As members of Odili’s political structure, then known as the ‘ Restoration team,” Wike and Amaechi had fought on a common side some complex political battles and had shared the benefits that accrued from their earlier victories.
It could be recalled that after the 1999 general elections in Rivers State,
Amaechi, who won the Ikwerre constituency seat in the State House of Assembly election, was nominated as the Speaker, while Wike became the Chairman of the rich Obio Akpor Local Government Council.
At that point, they were both considered as some of the most favoured of Odili’s political children.
Their political relationship was to deepen from 2007 when Amaechi suffered grave political injustice as he was blatantly denied PDP governorship ticket to contest the 2007 gubernatorial election under former President Olusegun Obasanjo. In a high wired political mechanization, Amaechi’s cousin, Celestine Omehia, was brought in to replace him.
Till date, this unfortunate incident has been identified as the political manipulation that helped to destroy the once united and powerful Odili’s restoration team.
While many members of the family showed Amaechi their back at that point, Wike was one of the few that remained faithful to Amaechi, his political soulmate then. So, when, in a twist of fate, Amaechi regained his mandate as governor of the state, Wike emerged his strongest political ally, serving as his most powerful Chief of Staff.
The Nation’s checks however showed that this blossoming political relationship was first punctured by Amaechi and Wike’s alleged common interests in the Rivers South Senatorial District’s seat at the National Assembly come 2015.
Sources said Wike had at a time approached Amaechi to seek his permission to contest for the legislative seat. The governor was alleged to have initially consented to that idea, but suddenly changed his mind. Their relationship, according to insiders changed dramatically as soon as Amaechi told Wike he (Amaechi) was equally interested in the senatorial seat ahead 2015.
An associate of Amaechi, who refused to be identified, explained however that the matter is beyond an interest in a senatorial seat. He told The Nation that Wike is simply “interested in being used by the Presidency because it also served his interest. He is desperate to govern Rivers State without taking into cognizance the effect of the current rancour on the state.”
Reactions of Amaechi associates confirm claims that they were strongly rattled both by the Court’s rulings and Wike’s recent utterances that he would contest for the governorship seat of the state in 2015.
For example, Rivers State government, through its Commissioner for Information, Ibim Semenatari, described the judgment as “an abuse of Court processes and a rape on judicial process.”
Other associates of Amaechi alleged that it was judicial robbery. Chairman of the Rivers Caucus in the House of Representatives, Asita Honorable, who addressed the press conference on behalf of its members, said they would explore all available legal means to reverse the judgment.
The Publicity Secretary of the outgoing executives, George Okwuoma Nwogba, was also quoted as saying they would appeal the judgment.
Also, local government chairmen elected on the platform of PDP in the State have vowed not to recognize or work with Obuah-led Rivers PDP Executives. The council chairmen under the aegis of Association of Local Government Council of Nigeria, ALGON, said at a press conference in Port Harcourt that it would not accept or condone any illegal executive council foisted upon them. The association through its Chairman, Chimbiko Akarolo, described the decision of the Abuja High Court as a “bad luck to democracy in Rivers State and Nigeria”.
With this kind of sentiment, the political texture of Rivers State is becoming more worrisome and complicated by the day, even as Amaechi and President Jonathan’s battle for the soul of Nigerian Governors Forum also remains unresolved.
This explains the concern expressed by citizens over the political fortunes of the state ahead of 2015. With Wike now reportedly announcing his determination to contest the governorship race under the platform of PDP, notwithstanding the fact that such ambition will puncture what has been described as existing zoning structure, it appears the Rivers State’s political puzzle may still require some unforeseen interventions to be resolved.
