The symposium held on Thursday to mark the Port Harcourt centenary celebration presented a perfect opportunity for Rivers state governor, Rotimi Amaechi, to bare his mind to President Jonathan concerning all the bickerings between them in recent times. And trust the governor – he wasted no time in pointing out to the president that for him, the only condition for peace is for social justice to prevail. He however did not expatiate on what he meant this time. With the theme, “Port Harcourt City, Past, Present and Future” and in the presence of eminent personalities such as former military president, Yakubu Gowon, members of the national assembly and their Rivers state counterparts, traditional rulers, top government officials, the governor declared that: “On behalf of the people of Rivers state, all I ask for is social justice. If social justice is put in place, peace will come.” On his own part, the president, who was represented by his special adviser on Research, Documentation and Strategy, Oronto Douglass, lamented that “Even as we celebrate, I have observed with pains that the struggle for political space in recent times is creating unnecessary tension in this city, which has served all of us so well.” President Jonathan thus appealed to “fathers, mothers and leaders to do more to intervene and help douse the fire of partisan differences in order to preserve the peaceful glory of Port harcourt.” Because, according to him, “this is not the best that Port Harcourt deserves.” The President’s conciliatory tone was however met with another throw of the gauntlet as the governor categorically told the gathering that “the Rivers state we have now belongs to you, you must reclaim it from the looters. You must stop the thieves from taking over power.” Former Head of state, Yakubu Gowon, under whose administration Rivers state was created, admonished “key leaders of thought to broker peace to ensure the unity and progress of our country, Nigeria” because “if any part of the nation is not at peace, everyone will suffer grave consequences.” The power play between the president and the Rivers governor has seen numerous accusations and counter- accusations from different quarters, with the result that their political party, PDP, in Rivers state is enduring a bitter factionalisation crisis. Knowing the nature of the parties involved, what is certain is that this would not be the last time they go head to head.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 19:09:45 +0000