1. Rotimi Amaechi 2. Dakuku Peterside 3. George Feyii 4. Celestine Omehia
Although there is seemingly nothing on the ground to point to the surreptitious moves for the coveted governorship seat in Rivers State, Bolaji Ogundele writes on the political situation in the state and the people being whispered as likely contenders for the Government House presently occupied by Mr Rotimi Amaechi.
THE year, 2015, seems like some distant time away from now, but the time is
early enough for Nigerian politicians to start pushing and making moves for the next general election, which is still more than three years away. Given the fact that there is nothing visible in the political landscape in the state at the moment, one may wrongly conclude that nothing is happening yet in Rivers State and that the major political stakeholders are still busy battling with governance. One may not be crucified for reaching such a conclusion as there are no posters and banners anywhere in the state directly pointing at any political campaign at the moment. As it is the practice obtainable elsewhere, if you ask any of the politicians in the state to even just make a comment about a rumoured preparation for elections or a political post, you can take a bet that the likely response will be, “we are still praying to hear God’s express lead” or “I have too much on my hands now than to add politics to it.”
However, there are more than just rumours indicating the directions and dimensions the preparation for the 2015 general election may take. Though their names are still being mentioned in hushes and whispers, some few politicians in Rivers State have been marked as likely contenders to the governorship seat presently occupied by Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, and those who hold such a view have their reasons. For now, drawing the battle line on party basis can be said to be a straight fight between the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the only visible opposition party in the state, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). This is not to say that there are no other parties in existence in the state, but the available ones appears to be existing mainly to serve those politicians who might have political ambitions when the season to contest comes.
Since it is considered to be quite early in the day to determine who might eventually come on which platform to contest for the governorship ticket, it might be safer to restrict the analysis to those personalities believed to be most keen on becoming governor at the end of the tenure of the incumbent, Amaechi.
In this wise, those said to be in contention for the Brick House (Government House), come 2015, are mostly those who contested against the governor in the April 2011 elections on the tickets of the other political party platforms. In this category, the main contenders then included the ACN flag-bearer, Dr Abiye Sekibo and his counterpart from the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Mr Celestine Omehia who, incidentally, happens to be a cousin of Governor Amaechi. The rumour mills has it that the duo are expected to come out once again to slug it out with whoever will be lucky enough to pick the PDP ticket. While it is suffice to say that neither Sekibo nor Omehia has given an indication about their plans for 2015, the view in the political circle in the state is that, for the purpose of being seen as steadfast politicians and for the sake of their followers, the duo may still come out to take another shot at the juicy governorship seat in the oil-rich state.
However, many analysts are also of the opinion that 2015 is still far away and that there is enough time for manoeuvring and to spring surprises, ahead of the election year. To those who believed in this school of thought, PDP is a party that does not like to take chances and that one of the strategies it may adopt to keep its hold on its most valued treasure is by making moves to reconcile old and aggrieved members. The two main opposition figures, Sekibo and Omehia, belong to this category as they are old PDP members who had, in the past, invested their resources and strength on the party.
It is also believed that outside the PDP and politics, some concerned personalities have not ceased from making efforts to reconcile Amaechi and his cousin, Omehia, while some others are also trying to reconcile the Peter Odili political family, a lineage to which a substantial number of the political class in the state are said to belongs to. According to those in the know, the division in the Odili political clan had primarily generated from the struggle for offices, which created enemies, leaving many of them disgruntled as well as the group economically side-tracked. In an effort to get the clan going again and ensure its economic stability, machinery was said to have been put in place to reconcile its members and start working together once again. If this works out eventually, there is expected to be re-organisations, amendments and horse-trading, which might mean that some of those in the opposition at the moment may start playing different roles as 2015 approaches.
As things stand today, some of the names being touted within the PDP to take a shot at the Government House in 2015 included Tonye Princewill, a former governorship candidate in the 2007 elections; Dr Sampson Parker, the current Commissioner for Health in the state; George Feyii, the Secretary to the State Government; Dakuku Peterside, member, House of Representatives; and senator Magnus Abe. All these men are seen as viable candidates, with one of them emerging as the most likely successor to Amaechi..
Tonye Princewill
A businessman and politician, he contested the governorship election in 2007 on the platform of the then Action Congress (AC) and was the first to identify with and declare his support for Amaechi. He stayed away from the governorship contest in 2011 probably because he still believed in the governor and because he already had crossed over to the ruling PDP and would not want to be seen as running a collision course with his friend, the governor. The rumour mill is however agog that Princewill and Amaechi might not be in the best of terms for now and this may not put him in a good stead to curry the favour of the governor should he eventually decide to take a shot at the Brick House.
Sampson Parker
He has been Commissioner for Health for as long as Amaechi has been the state governor, save for a brief interregnum during a cabinet reshuffle when the governor decided to delay the appointment or reappointment of some commissioners at the commencement of his second term tenure. Parker’s office has been entrusted with a huge sum of the state’s budget, especially during the first term of the Amaechi administration. Things, however, seem to have be on the low now as, according to sources, the Health Ministry is not controlling as much money as it did then.
George Feyii
Though presently the Secretary to the State Government and previously served as the Commissioner for Budget and later as the Commissioner for Finance, Feyii is still considered a dark horse in the political terrain in the state. To analysts, his unassuming disposition puts him on the list of those who would want to continue doing what they are trained to be-a financial/economic expert, rather than going deeply into politics. However, the belief is that the incumbent might need a successor whom he can entrust with the job of continuing in the line of his development strategy for the state. This factor, it was said, accounted for why Feyii is being propped by the establishment to prepare him for the top job.
Dakuku Peterside
He is currently a member of the House of Representatives, representing Andoni/Opobo/Nkoro Federal Constituency. Before his foray into national politics, Petreside served the Rivers State government under the Amaechi administration as Commissioner for Works. Known to be one of the closest allies of the governor, he is considered as Amaechi’s underling and was particularly empowered by the governor. Although he has not come out in the open to talk about his ambition, but the body language and the ‘small politics’ the man is playing is a pointer to one direction namely, he wanted to be seen as the most suitable replacement for Amaechi in 2015. One factor observers said may work in his favour is what has been described as the ‘master/protégé’ relationship he has with the incumbent governor.
Senator Magnus Abe
He is one of the most influential personalities in Rivers politics today. Formerly the Secretary to the Rivers State Government and Commissioner for Information in the previous administration, Abe currently represents Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the Senate. His relationship with the incumbent governor is seen as a plus for him as he is considered to be one of Amaechi’s closest friends and had invested heavily to the political career of the governor. As a member of the state House of Assembly when Amaechi was the Speaker, Abe was very close to Amaechi, though he was in an opposition party and was the Minority Leader of the House. Although he has not openly admitted to nursing any governorship ambition, he is believed to a strong contender in the race to the Governor’s Office in 2015.
Of all those being touted as possible successor to Amaechi, the two with the brightest chances and who are probably the most visible are said to be enjoying very good and cordial relationships with the governor. View in this light, the opinion is that this chummy relationships may pose a problem for the governor should he failed to manage it well. Against this backdrop, a political analyst, Anderson Iboroma, told the Nigerian Tribune, ‘’It always happens in scenarios like this that there will be conflicting interests in the same house and if the head of the house fails to manage the situation intelligently, it could cause the collapse of the entire structure.
‘’We saw it here with the Odili house and if Amaechi fails to take a cue from that, his own case may not be different. Because if you look at it, all these people jostling are in one way or the other what you will call member of his kitchen cabinet. So, the governor should know how to restrain everybody and get them to handle this case well.”
Indeed, while Governor Amaechi still have some two years to continue with the task of governing the state, it would not be out of place to say that the ruling party in Rivers State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), would have its hand full in picking its candidate from the array of high-profile personalities in its fold, ahead of the 2015 elections.
Hear, See, and Say it
No comments:
Post a Comment