Fresh intrigues in Rivers’ ever-boiling political pot

Rivers State, which gives Nigeria one problem every day, is in the news again with fresh intrigues starting with the fronting of ex-senator Lee Maeba, known as one of the strong supporters of the minister of education and arrowhead of the battle to recapture the state to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nyesom Wike.

This comes on the heels of debunked media reports of plans to debar the minister from contesting as governor in 2015 since his fellow Ikwerre kinsman, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has been on seat for tow terms. The party quickly refuted the claims and said it was by those afraid to face the minister in the field come February 2014.

Rumours began weeks ago that elders of the PDP met at a hotel in D-Line in the presence of Wike where a decision was allegedly reached to select another person to carry the flag to the Brick House in the face of likely opposition to the controversial minister.

Those who claimed to know about the meeting said it was impressed upon Maeba, who is Ogoni, to carry the flag, though he was said to be uncomfortable with the proposition at that point. It is not clear if the ex-senator who has philanthropy running in his blood later accepted to do it.

Now, a group has emerged saying Maeba distinguished himself in the past and has begun ‘calling’ on him to step out and dance where Wike was supposed to stand. The group which claims widespread support across the state Maeba was a “dependable mantle-bearer, not only for his people but the entire Rivers State and South-South region at large”.

The group known as Association of Better Rivers State (ABRS) said its preference of the Ogoni-born democrat was hinged on the fact that he alone sponsored the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Bill 2008 (58.81), “a Bill for an Act to provide for the development of Nigeria content in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry; for Nigerian Content Plan, for Supervision, Coordination, Monitoring and Implementation of Nigerian Content and for Matters incidental thereto”.

 Meanwhile, Wike’s men said a “sponsored media campaign to smear the image and hard-earned reputation of the minister has been uncovered”. The statement signed by the minister’s media officer, Simeon Nwakauda, said the media campaign in form of advertorials with pseudo names was alleging all manner of evil including membership of secret cults which members and leaders are only know to these mischief makers.

“There is no gainsaying the fact that the sponsors and unseen hands of the malicious and libelous materials are political opponents and enemies of the PDP leader in Rivers State, Wike. The object of these political cowards is no other but to deceive the unsuspecting members of the public and the highly informed Rivers people who have continued to prevail on the minister to make himself available for election for the office Governor of the State in 2015 which they know too well that if he accepts, will definitely win. Though not disturbed by this satanic plot borne out of fear of Wike’s intimidating credentials and rising political profile as well as the lack of confidence in themselves to confront necessary and unavoidable challenge, we are most ready to take it up with anybody who may have taken it upon himself to go outside politics to attack the person and integrity of its leader in the name of politicking”.

Now, the PDP in the state has openly accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state of instigating and sponsoring a group of people claiming to be a faction of the PDP to open a parallel secretariat in Port Harcourt to create the impression that the Party is factionalised in the state.

Describing that as criminal and the crudest form of playing politics, the state chairman, Felix Obuah, through his Special Adviser on Media, Jerry Needam, said such plot would not succeed because the PDP is democratically intact in the state and does not have any internal squabbles.

Obuah warned against any such act aimed at causing crisis in the state (though the state has been in endless crisis), stressing that both the High Court and Appeal Court judgments recognizing him as the only constitutionally constituted PDP chairman in the state still subsisted.

The former chairman, G.U.Ake, had taken the Obuah group to appeal court on the issue of the true chairman, but lost at the appeal court. It is not clear if he still spoiling for the position.

Obuah, known as Go-Round, for his philanthropy, has urges security agencies to be alive to such plot which aim he said was nothing short of plunging the state in another round of crisis as though it’s a political problem.

Notwithstanding, he added, the PDP as a focused and law abiding party would not succumb to such cheap blackmail and will stop at nothing to follow due process to campaign and clinch all the elective offices in the State in 2015 general elections.

 All of these have increased the ever-increasing tension in Rivers State where insecurity has returned and ex-militants have become more militant with cultists and violent robbers making life fearful in the once joyous city.

 By Ignatius Chukwu: business day online