The crisis rocking the Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP over the choice of a governorship candidate for the 2015 general elections may adversely affect the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan, as PDP Stalwarts in Rivers State, yesterday, threatened that the President and the party would lose over two million votes from the state, if the party imposes the former Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike as its governorship candidate.
This was disclosed by a group, Rivers Mainstream Coalition, RMC, a group of concerned Rivers State PDP stakeholders and 19 state governorship aspirants.
According to RMC, the chances of the party in 2015 depends on how the leadership of the party handles the current crisis in the state.
According to it, “if the right thing is done, PDP will fly high. Our options as RMC, that is fighting for justice in Rivers State, are widely dependent on what is unfolding.”
Speaking on behalf of the group at a press conference in Abuja, Prof. Israel Owate said they had no confidence in the National Deputy Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus to resolve the lingering crisis.
He maintained that Secondus had openly aligned himself with a cabal in the state to short change the Rivers’ people.
Owate said; “Secondus has stubbornly and consistently shown open alignment with the ambition of Barr. Nyesom Wike and cannot therefore be trusted to proffer unbiased solutions on Rivers State crisis.
“There is ample evidence that the imposition of Wike to succeed Governor Amaechi shall cause deep geo-political imbalance, trigger negative reactions from other ethnic groups and threaten the peace, stability and unity of Rivers State including the electoral fortunes of the PDP.
“It is the general view of Rivers people that Wike is so desperate to become governor that he does not bother to evaluate how much damage his stubborn violation of the existing rotation formula can do in polarizing the electorate and weakening the unity required to muster the traditional two million votes in the 2015 elections for Mr President.
“The impending tragedy can only be averted by ensuring that other ethnic groups in River State are not extremely incensed by the intolerable prospect of being subjugated to the slavery of having another Ikwerre person succeed Governor Amaechi, who is also Ikwerre man.”
The group then appealed to President Jonathan to “prevail on the NWC of the PDP to dissolve the docile and incompetent Rivers State Executive Committee and appoint a care-taker committee to run the party until another executive committee is elected.
“Prevail on the PDP to abide by and implement the provisions of its constitution in its Aims and Objectives in chapter 1 item 7.3 (c) that guarantees ‘adhering to the policy of rotation and zoning of party and public elective offices.
“Prevail on NWC to openly declare that the zone which produced the sitting Governor Amaechi is excluded from fielding candidates as has been done in Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Adamawa and Enugu states.
“Prevail on Uche Secondus to step aside on all matters concerning Rivers State because he has shown bias towards aspiration of Wike.”
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