Ogoni Development Drive, ODD, a rights group based in Port Harcourt, Rivers state has faulted the visit of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike to the South-South Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Victor Giadom in Beera Community of Gokana local government of the state on Saturday.
The group described the visit as “a miscalculated political gimmick” that will not be to the advantage of the oil-rich Ogoni kingdom given the past political antecedents in which Ogoni sons have been denied the opportunity of becoming the governor of the state.
In a statement issued on Sunday in Port Harcourt, the convener of the group, Comrade Solomon Lenu said the visit of the former governor was merely deceptive, adding that it has been the lifelong responsibility of the Minister to ensure that Ogoni remains in political servitude as a race in Rivers state.
Lenu accused the Minister of not doing anything to reconcile the divisions amongst the Ogonis which has been used as a strategy not to trust an Ogoni with a governorship position since the inception of Rivers state.
The ODD convener recalled that “in 2014, Wike went an extra mile to undermine the chances of Sen. Lee Maeba, who was already anointed by both the Presidency and elders of the PDP to be the flag bearer in that election. Wike instigated the then first lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan against the wishes of her husband and the party executives, using a historic long forgotten crisis that happened between Eleme and Okrika people as a reason why an Ogoni man must not be Governor of Rivers state, otherwise, they will send the Okrikans, the hometown of the then First Lady into exile.
“All the Ogoni politicians who had been individually promised the PDP ticket for 2023 election were sternly warned a night before the election never to come closer to the venue of the primaries. Our royal fathers were deceived, our clergy were molested, our elders were not left out.”
Lenu noted that Hon Victor Giadom has become a wonderful friend of Wike, because Magnus Abe has decided to return to the APC, a party he was using as a playground for his political pursuit, adding that all this is playing out because “Governor Siminalayi Fubara whom he (Wike) mistook for a surrogate has turned around to lean with the people, and his pyrrhic empire is crumbling.
“During the 2019 general election, the Ogonis lost an astute academic, Dr. Ferry Gberegbe, who was growing to become a shining light in the academic world, yet, that was not enough to empathize with the Ogonis for our age along agitation for political inclusion in the scheme of things”.
The ODD Convener alleged that Wike will never support Hon Victor Giadom or any Ogoni son for governorship in 2027 and called on the Ogoni people to be wary of any political intrigues by those who don’t mean well for the people of the ancient kingdom.
Credit: Vanguard
