Another support group of the Federal Captial Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has collapsed its structure for the Rivers governor Siminalaye Fubara, barely four days after the councillor representing the FCT minster’s ward Achor Nna resigned his position in support of the governor.
A group of twelve men who served as Local Government Coordinators for the Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI), a political pressure group pivotal to Wike’s emergence as the Rivers State governor in 2015, are the most recent group to side pitch tent with the Rivers governor.
Naijaonpoint reports that the coordinators represent Ogu/Bolo, Port Harcourt City, Opobo/Nkoro, Gokana, Bonny, Ahoada West, Ahoada East, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, Oyigbo, Asari-Toru, Akuku-Toru and Obio/Akpor local government area where the Wike comes from.
The former caretaker chairman of Obio/Akpor LGA Onunwo stated that the group’s only choice is to back Fubara because they freely gave him their votes and mandate, a choice that the Supreme Court upheld.
He assured the success of the current administration’s policies and programs, as well as the commitment and hard work of the former GDI coordinators.
He said, “We want the public, Rivers people, and all Nigerians to know that GDI is the group founded by the former governor and now Federal Capital Territory Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike. That group brought him to power in 2015 and supported his ambition in 2019. That group is his strength.”
“But today, we and our supporters have decided we are no longer members of GDI. The reason is simple: we want to be with Rivers people. Rivers’ interest is paramount. In 2012, GDI’s interest was to protect, defend, and promote our brother-in-law, President Goodluck Jonathan, because of our mother and sister, Dame Patience Jonathan; and it yielded good dividends to the state.
“Through that struggle, our brother, Chief Nyesom Wike, became governor in 2015; and in 2019, when Abuja politicians said he will not return for a second tenure, we all rallied around him and defended our votes, and he served for eight years.
“Today, Rivers’ interest is to protect our votes that brought in Sir Siminalayi Fubara, Executive Governor of Rivers State, in the most credible, fair, and violence-free election. We have come to join millions of Rivers women, youths, elders, and other well-meaning people who insist that we must protect our votes to sustain democracy. Our concern is that we voted for PDP and Sir Siminalayi Fubara, and we must protect that mandate with all we have”.
Additionally, he forewarned those opposing Government House Chief of Staff Dr. Edison Ehie to turn around or get ready to face the fury of Rivers’ women, youths, and elderly.