Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has continued his cross-regional efforts to create what he desires as a unified front for the Niger Delta.
The Rivers State governor has been a strong force behind the creation of the South-South/South-East Governors’ Forum which seeks a return to a common political and economic force in the former eastern region.
Last weekend, Wike continued his drive to Oghara in Delta State, hometown of the once-most powerful governor in the south-south, James Ibori, who just came out of prison in the United Kingdom.
The Rivers governor was accompanied to Oghara by former acting chairman of PDP, Uche Secondus; the senator, Lee Maeba; former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Austin Opara; former Minister of Sports, Tammy Danagogo; and the administrator of the Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority, an ambassador, Desmond Akawor. Also present was the senator, Peter Nwaobishi and senior associates of the former Delta State governor, Ibori.
At the end of their meetings, Wike, called on Niger Delta leaders to unite for what he termed rapid development of the geo-political zone.
The governor said unity was needed in the geo-political zone to check the current situation where outsiders took advantage of the disunity of the area to deny the people benefits of their resources. In this sense, Wike has joined resource control agitation of a sort. Most of those who lost power at the centre regard it as denial of oil resources.
Wike, who is also a co-chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Reconciliation Committee, spoke on Saturday at Oghara during a meeting with Ibori and Okowa.
“Niger Delta must continue to be united. Whatever it takes, unity is still a very key factor. When we are divided, outsiders will come and exploit our resources to the disadvantage of our communities,” he said.
According to him, “We have to fight to protect the interest of the Niger Delta. We draw strength from people like former Governor James Ibori, a man who has variegated experiences.
“We must work as brothers. We must work as a team. We must not allow our united front to be divided.”
In his welcome remarks, Ibori, who hailed Wike on development projects, commended the governors of Rivers and Delta States for their cooperation on developmental issues and urged both governors to work towards building a stronger united force for all the Niger Delta states.
Also speaking, Okowa said the Rivers State Governor was a grassroots politician who was providing effective leadership for his people, but added that the Niger Delta needed to work together for the geo-political zone to be a stronger political voice in the country.
Ignatius Chukwu
