The National President, South South Youths Initiative, Comrade Imeabe Saviour Oscar has reacted to Nyesome Wike’s statement that Rivers people should not vote the next governor of the state based on ethnicity but on competence.
In a press statement issued in Port Harcourt, the president said that Wike was an ethnic bigot and as such has no moral justification to tell people not to vote on ethnic bases’.
The statement read, “We listened to statements credited to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike while addressing his Rainbow Coalition Supporters over the weekend in Port Harcourt, wherein he said Rivers people should not vote the next governor of the state based on ethnicity but on competence.
“Ordinarily, we could have ignored Nyesom Wike but because the Wike we know is the grandmaster of ethnic politics. In fact, Wike is an ethnic bigot and as such has no moral justification to tell people not to vote on ethnic bases.
“If Wike was not an ethnic bigot how come virtually all governorship candidates of his Rainbow Coalition ranging from APC, PDP and Labour Party are all from PHALGA and Obio/Akpor- all Ikwerres? How come he never picked any from Ogoni or Ijaw which are all major ethnic blocs in the state? Is Nyesom Wike telling us that only Ikwerres have the capacity to produce governors in this state? Or is he implying that only Ikwerres have competent people in Rivers State?
“Also, if Wike claims not to be an ethnic bigot why is he supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to shout that it is the turn of the South and that they should be allowed to complete their eight years in power? Was it not on ethnicity basis that Tinubu became president? So why should Wike now want to box Rivers people into a particular tribal candidate?
“ We condemn totally and in its entirety such statement from Wike. Wike again has decided to insult the people of Ogoni and the Ijaws, and other ethnic nationalities by talking about capacity – meaning that the only people that have capacity in Rivers State are the Ikwerres. What Wike implied in his statement is that no other ethnic nationality in Rivers State has the capacity to produce the next governor, except the Ikwerres and that’s a serious slap and a serious insult to the people of Rivers State.
“Rivers people should stop seeing Wike as a political leader because he speaks from both sides of his mouth.
“We call on Rivers people and most especially the Ogonis and Ijaws working with him to be wary of the person they should call their leader because it is certainly not Nyesom Wike.
“Again, the same Wike who fought godfatherism during his tenure as governor by chasing all past leaders of the state away is now turning himself to be the ultimate leader of godfatherism and leader of all. He alone wants to ordain whoever becomes governor or whatever in Rivers State. Wike who does not obey the zoning system, does not obey the rule of law, wants people to obey him. Sometimes we wonder how Wike became a Lifebencher in the Nigerian judiciary.
“We call on Rivers people to ignore such call by Nyesom Wike. He speaks from both sides of his mouth and so should not be taken seriously.
“We strongly call on the Ogonis and Ijaws in Rivers State to jettison those statements by Wike and vote against his preferred candidates especially in the governorship election for making a mockery of the zoning system in the state and for insulting their sensibility with his Ikwerre Agenda kind of politics.
“Rivers State belongs to all of us and as such, nobody can claim monopoly over leadership of the state”.
