Asari Dokubo joins the
opposition?
By Odimegwu Onwumere
Sunday,
March 30, 2008
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•Alhaji
Asari Dokubo
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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It was a day of cries and sober reflections recently at Buguma
when Alhaji Asari Dokubo, leader of the Niger Delta Peoples
Volunteer Force (NDPVF), and Chief of the Kalabari Kingdom
visited his home town. It was for the second time after his
incarceration in 2005 by General Olusegun Obasanjo, the immediate
past president of Nigeria.
His homecoming quaked the land of Buguma, as it drew all the
sons and daughters of his land. Sheep bleated, dogs barked
and birds chirped, all in the praise of Dokubo.
Buguma is the headquarters of Asari-Toru Local Government
Council of Rivers State.The town was agog! The sons and daughters
of Buguma were at the King Amachree Square where the Action
Congress(AC) was billed to hold a salvation rally for the
people, singing hosanna, hosanna, and hosanna for Asari’s
life up till date.
The AC, regarded as the strongest opposition in the State,
utilized the presence of Asari to visit Wards 1-9 of the Council,
after which it paid a courtesy call on the King of Kalabari
Kingdom, His Royal Highness, (Prof) TJT Princewill. King Princewill
did not waste time to anoint Mr. Tedd Princewill, grandson
of Senator Dagogo Princewill the AC Chairmanship candidate
for Asari-Toru .
Singing and praising Asari at the King Amachree Square were
a mammoth crowd, before the ‘AC Salvation’ train
came, with its royal blessing and empowerment. A rally which
was termed by the elders of the town as "the greatest
crowd ever witnessed in the town" commenced and was comparable
only to that which welcomed Alhaji Dokubo, when he was released
from the prison.
With chuckle on a bony face, Asari spoke to his people "as
he never did before. Wetting the earth with his own tears,
Asari said: "No son or daughter of Asari-Toru should
waste his or her franchise to vote for any PDP candidate whatsoever
for any reason after all that the community was made to suffer
over the self-inflicted crisis PDP, as a party, engineered
in the area."
PDP thugs were recently reported to have descended on AC members
on campaign at Eleme, Rivers State. But Asari assured his
people not to waiver or genuflect on what he termed as "just
mere threat."
His words: "That is just a rattling of an ant who has
not seen any mayhem in his life. I will make sure that the
police sniffing dogs are everywhere, in Buguma on March 29,
2008. I will be there on the election day, not only to vote
for AC candidates in my Ward, but to ensure that the lives
of the people of Asari-Toru are protected from any form of
molestation in the hands of a nonentity like the PDP candidate,
in a legal way."
Being cheered by the magnanimous crowd; Asari Dokubo formally
presented Mr. Tedd Princewill, as the next Executive Chairman
of Asari Toru Local Government. Chief Diamond West, a one
time Executive Chairman of the Local Government and the AC
candidate for the House of Representatives for the area during
the 2007 general elections, joined in the campaign .
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