WHY SENATOR MAGNUS ABE & TONY OKOCHA ARE NOT LEADING ASIWAJU PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN IN RIVERS STATE— DR. ADELEKE- JONES PRINCE ADEWOLE REVEALS
The Non-Indigenous residents in Rivers state are battling to be recognized in the political arrangement of Rivers state. During the administration of former Governor of Rivers state Rt. Honourable Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi Non-indigenes collapsed their various structures into an amalgam known as Indigenes Without Border and they were able to have a single voice in that administration with the appointment of some of them into the executive cabinet and head of some parastatal in the state.
On Wednesday 31st, of August 2022, The Ear Witness Publisher/Editor-In-Chief, Emeka Amaefula (+234(0)8111813069 had an exclusive interview with Dr. Adeleke-Jones Prince Adewole the EPE Lagos state born Coordinator of Rivers State Non-Indigenous Supporters of Bola Ahmed Tinubu-RIVSNIGA. He made clarifications on the leadership tussle in APC Rivers state chapter and in the Asiwaju Presidential campaign structure in Rivers state now that Distinguished Senator Magnus Ngei Abe has decamped to Social democratic Party-SDP. READ ON
Excerpts
May I meet you?
My name is Prince Dr. Adeleke-Jones Adewole. I am a native of Epe from the clan of Omojoda in Lagos state. By the special grace of God, I am also the Coordinator of the Rivers state Non-Indigenous group for Asiwaju.
How did you develop interest in Politics?
I have developed fanatic interest in politics. I took up this baton after much participation in politics from the days of former Governor Dr. Peter Odili. I have been with Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. I worked with them. All that brought Dr. Peter Odili into the picture of being a governor I was a dogged participant. And through the time we had the issue of k-leg matter that severed the relationship of the one house of PDP that brought the faction of Barrister Celestine Omehia and faction of Rt. Honourable Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi still in PDP, to the point where we had to take refuge under Amaechi with APC.
So, I have been playing politics right from that time to present day.
You are talking about 22 years ago, and you look this young, how did you mix up with the big wigs in Rivers state politics?
Well, I look very young but age-wise am not young. For reasons I would not want to really state my age here. But for they who have been working with me through the time like I mentioned would be able to state my participation in politics.
Give us your academic background?
By the special grace of God I am an alumni of University of Port Harcourt. I did my Bachelors Degree in University of Port Harcourt. I did my Masters there. And at the same time I did my doctoral degree PhD at university of Port Harcourt.
Which area is your discipline?
It is Mechanical Engineering.
What is your position in All Progressives Congress Nationwide?
This question you have brought in is a very good one, in the sense that I have been an agitator of the position of Non-Indigenous in the state APC. Well, it is not just APC alone so it is in other parties in Rivers state. The Non-Indigenes are not given inclusion in the party structure. I don’t know where a system like that operate where you have APC structure all indigenes. And you creating a Non-Indigenous structure outside the party where there is no total inclusion. You now tell them, Non-Indigenes rally yourself. And when you say Non-Indigenes rally yourself you don’t give them that inclusion to participate fully of all that is taking place in APC. You only give them instructions such as ‘Okay, this is what we are doing now go and do so and so, so thing. And I have come to agitate over this matter time without numbers to ask where is party politics played like this? Where is this kind of participation you can find in the world? The segregation between who is an indigene and who’s a non-indigene. We can set an example in Lagos state. Go the party structure you will see the Igbos, you will the Houses in one party structure from the Chairman to the last Ex-Officio. Go to Abuja in the national body you will see the same. For today, Senator Abdullahi Adamu as the party National chairman and we still have the National Secretary Senator Omisore. That’s a Westerner to a Northerner. So, we have all the National Vice Chairmen all belong to the same structure. But here in Rivers state there is no Non-Indigene in that structure. So, the Non-indigenous group have been playing politics outside the party structure so they are not holding anything and they will not give it to us. And I have been clamouring why can’t we have even if it’s two, three, to five positions you feel like these can go for Non indigenes, give it to Non Indigenes to nominate or even elect who they want to represent them there. That’s inclusion. So, we have been playing this politics and participating in politics in Rivers state like the non-indigenes getting themselves together nominating or choosing who’s going to representing to stand as their leader of course I am one of their leaders when it comes to the structure in the Non-Indigenous group of APC. I am one of the leaders. I hold a Coordinator position.
Is it of APC or another subgroup supporting of the Presidential candidates?
Yes, it’s a sub-group, I hold the position as one of the Coordinators of Rivers state’s Non-Indigenous Group for Asiwaju. Here we have so many factions of Non-Indigenous groups. We have the socio-cultural group of the Igbos, the socio-cultural extraction of the Yorubas, the socio-cultural extraction of the Hausas. I have the interest of all these groups, the Igbos, the Ijaws, Edos, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and the entire Igbos ethnicity, Yoruba ethnicity and the Northern ethnicity. I have them to get together and that’s why we say Rivers state Non-indigenous groups.
What have been your activities to sensitize your members, since the mobilization of the Permanent Voters Card-PVC registration and update?
We have been doing the needful. We have been doing all that it takes, to sensitize everyone. If you watch my publications in the local dailies, you will see my expressions in there. I have emphasized critically how we have moved from ward to ward, I am talking about 319 wards in the state to make sure that we crave for that support and ask for that support for Asiwaju. In so doing we also lament seriously on how they should secure their PVC. I took a step within the period of canvassing for grass root support for Asiwaju to take people down to the INEC office to make sure that they register for their PVC. Even, I took them to every centre created by INEC to make sure that people are registered and those who want to change their whatever we also did what we could for them to see that they get a new location for where they want to cast their vote.
Now that Senator Magnus Abe has defected to the SDP, who is the leader of Bola Ahmed Tinubu Supporters vanguard in Rivers and Bayelsa states? Is there any leadership vacuum?
Let me say this that before now yes, distinguished Senator Magnus Abe was championing the cause for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in which he did very well. I was part of that position because , , as at then, those of us who have interest in Asiwaju all rallied around whoever’s championing a fruitful cause for Asiwaju. Then, he was leading but at a point as usual Nigeria’s cross carpeting as he moved into the Social democratic Party. SDP. The question here that’s still on my mind is, is Senator Magnus Abe truly at this point that he has moved to SDP, still campaigning for Asiwaju? That’s the question here. But for me I don’t think so. I have to be clear. I don’t think so, because whether we want to believe it or not, he’s no longer in APC. And there is no way you can convince me that someone who’s no longer in APC will work for APC, because he’s also having his own problem to shoulder in SDP. So, are you going to say that somebody if he’s working for APC, that APC will work for him to emerge? It’s not true. So, the narrative is not clear to say that distinguished Senator Magnus Abe is in SDP and he’s working for Asiwaju. I think I disagree with that.
There’s a Coordinator of Asiwaju Presidential Campaign in Rivers state who has been recognized but an ally of Senator Magnus Abe, Is he still a member of APC in Rivers state?
From the official perspective he has not actually said that he is no longer in APC, I am talking about Chief Tony Okocha. Officially he still claims to be in APC. But undeniably he associates with the Social Democratic Party-SDP.
Is that not anti-Party activity?
Erheee ! My people will say something in our language “Oju to mo ni ri, ko ni se ala ise pe olun o mo ni” meaning “ the eyes that had befriended someone in the past, will not deny not knowing the person.” So, the eyes that befriended somebody in the past will not deny that he does not know that person. Like I said officially that Chief Tony Okocha has not officially presented any Letter to APC that he’s no longer a member of APC. But undeniably he has affinity with the SDP in Rivers state. In short, if he doesn’t have their registration yet, he is a spiritual card-carrying member of SDP.
Can somebody be in a political party and support another candidate in another political party, is that not anti-party activity?
{Laughs} It’s ant-party activity. In the eyes of the public and in the eyes of all-party big wigs and stalwarts sincerely it will be described as an anti-party activity, but let us look at it. Politics is a game of interest for what any person does when it comes to politics, for how the person participate or play politics as long as the person has an interest and if I were to speak my mind I will say it in clear terms that whatever is presented by Chief Tony Okocha stating that he’s in APC and everybody looking at his activities with SDP in the public stating emphatically that it is an anti-party he’s keeping a particular interest, in that interest may be known to the public or to himself. So, I wouldn’t like to state what interest that he’s keeping but I also will agree that from the position of the public that it’s not worthwhile.
All the members of Senator Magnus Abe’s faction of Rivers state chapter of APC are now found inside Social Democratic Party SDP supporting his Governorship candidate in SDP except Chief Tony Okocha who had not come out to tell the public where he belongs, as such he’s seen as working for Asiwaju to be elected as President of Nigeria come February 25th, 2023. Is that so?
You see, people are not dummies entertaining cheap narration can be sold to. I ask one single question that I think I have not got a single answer for. And what is that question, APC truly they are fighting a just position. Can SDP create a platform and allow an APC who’s not a member of APC to stay in the platform? Can they also for whatever reason now, let’s agree that there’s a campaign organization coming up and one among them in SDP do you understand is now introduced to the SDP family to state to them that so, and so individual who is known to them as an SDP stalwart is going to champion or leading the campaign against his own party’s presidential party’s candidate or governorship candidate for another Governorship candidate? Will they have been accepted? So, the issue is will you deal with people in a manner you cannot accept? There’s an adage in my place that says before you inflict pains on anybody do something similar to yourself, so that you can understand the intensity of the pains before you inflict it on another person.
So, I cannot blame APC, standing a just position to fight for what is duly theirs.
So, the second line is the vacuum. There’s no vacuum.
—-Emeka Amaefula—+234(0)8111813069
