Wike, Obanikoro’s ambition unsettles Rivers, Lagos PDP Therecent resignation by Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, his counterpart in the Defence Ministry, Musiliu Obanikoro; and Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, to join the 2015 governorship contests may have started unsettling the ranks of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in in Rivers, Lagos and Ebonyi states respectively. In Rivers, for example, Wike’s resignation to join the 2015 governorship race, has widened the crack in the state chapter of PDP. Speaking on the former Minister’s ambition, a key contender for the PDP ticket in the state, Dumo Lulu Briggs, who spoke through his director of media and publicity, Lekia Christian, accused Wike of planning to use members of his political platform, Grass Root Democratic Initiative (GDI) to fill the vacancies in the PDP. He lamented that those who left PDP for the All progressive Party (APC) with Governor Rotimi Amaechi, left with the original copies of all the documents, making it difficult to know authentic members of the party in the state. In Lagos, Obanikoro’s resignation to again take part in the governorship race continues to generate ripples within the party, even as it has fueled rumours that he has been anointed by the presidency as the party’s flag bearer for Lagos. While many shared the belief that Obanikoro is the only candidate the PDP can field to defeat the ruling APC, others feel he has had enough in the party, and should yield room to other aspirants. A governorship aspirant of the party, Michael Adegbola Dominic, believes that while Obanikoro has a right to contest, his resignation is not a pointer to the fact that he is the anointed candidate of the PDP. Calling for a free, fair and credible primary to select the PDP’s flagbearer, Dominic enjoin the former senator to conduct himself in a gentlemanly manner and avoid introducing thuggery into an already peaceful process. “All we are after is to ensure that we have a good open, transparent primary. Once the primary is open and rancour free, without introduction of hooliganism or thuggery into it, we will have peace. “Whoever emerges from such primary, automatically becomes the candidate and the other aspirants will support him. The fact that he is coming in does not make him the candidate,” he said. Another aspirant, Adetokunbo Pearse said Obanikoro’s action has portrayed him as a person who takes delight in personal interest, noting that “it is highly irresponsible for a person to accept a position as important and sensitive as Minister with all the responsibilities that he has to fulfill on behalf of the state and the Federal Government and to take that post for just a few months and to resign and say he wants to go and run for governor or any other position.” Speaking further, Pearse said, “I don’t think there is any other Minister who has spent as little time as he has as Minister, and then turn around and say he wants to resign in order to contest.” The story is not different in Ebonyi, where the 2015 governorship tussle may have eventually been narrowed down to a two-man race between the state’s current Deputy Governor, David Umahi and the immediate past Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu. Incidentally, both are from the northern political bloc of the state, setting a stage for a tight showdown. The resignation of the minister to join the race in Ebonyi has caused the Deputy Governor to increase the tempo of politicking, just as Chukwu has intensified lobby among the political class. Other notable contenders engaged in varied campaigns include Senator Anthony Agbo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), who defected from the PDP, Engineer Paul Okorie of the PDP, Senator Igwe Nwagu also of the PDP. Going by the last minute state of affairs, the situation might come to negotiation between the contending aspirants to agree on a possible consensus candidate among the major contestants.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 11:55:38 +0000
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