By Mark Pippah

Related News

Former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Austin Opara has said that Rivers people would overwhelmingly vote the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the December 10 rerun election to reward Governor Nyesom Wike for his infrastructural and human resources development initiatives in the state.
According to him, Wike’s developmental strides have not only given the state a new lease of life, but also restored the confidence of the long-suffering people of the oil-rich state in government.
He described the former ALGON chairman and Director General of Amaechi Campaign Organisation and ex-Minister of State (Education) as a master planner and strategist who knows how to win elections in Rivers State because he knows the political temperament of the people.
“As we speak, PDP controls all the 23 councils, occupies all the 25 declared House of Assembly and three declared House of Representatives seats. When you add that to Governor Wike’s uncommon and people-oriented democracy dividends, which have culminated in the relative security of lives and properties in the state, then you would agree that no force on earth could truncate PDP’s victory. Even the opposition knows it, hence they want to scuttle the election,” Opara said.
The former speaker who made the observations in Port Harcourt when members of the Coalition of Rivers Patriots paid him a courtesy visit advised the All Progressives Congress (APC) to forget the December 10 rerun election.
“Rivers people are not fools. They know who their friends are. They have never had it this good. The dividends of democracy that they could not get under eight years of Rotimi Amaechi have come to them under two years of Wike’s administration. Our people are not ingrates, they do not forget so easily. They have assured us that come December 10, they would troop out and vote the PDP all the way. No level of intimidation by the APC-led Federal Government can sway the people as they have vowed to give maximum support to the governor as he leads the PDP to victory. Wike has done enough to win the hearts and confidence of the Rivers People, ” Opara said.
He also commended the governor for embarking on the construction of several road networks in Etche, Okrika, Andoni, Ikwerre and Emorhua, among others.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Elders Consultative Council has described the amnesty programme embarked upon by the Rivers State Government as fruitful and timely.
Speaking through its Executive Secretary, Chief Granville Georgewill, the Council said the disarmament and mopping up of arms and ammunitions in the state would check all sorts of crime and criminality among the youths.
The council called on youths to take advantage of the magnanimity of the government and engage in productive activities.