Former Rivers State Governor, Celestine Omehia in interview with Daily Trust explains why PDP Governorship Candidate, Barrister Nyesom Ezenwo Wike will win the 2015 election. Excerpts :
The dust raised in Rivers state, following the conduct of the governorship primary election is yet to settle. Are you confident that the crisis will not affect the PDP chances?
I am very sure that the PDP is winning Rivers State. No primary election in Nigeria has ended without disagreement. The loser hardly agrees that it has ended. There has always been the belief that the issue has not been resolved until the names are submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Even after that, people are still going to protest. So, it is natural in Nigeria. It is not the same thing when compared to other parts of the world, where there are gallant losers. In Nigeria, there are gallant winners. But there are no gallant losers. But one basic thing about Rivers State is that it is a PDP state. It has always been like that. People in Rivers State don’t really like going to the opposition except the individuals. When I left the PDP and joined the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), people joined me massively because of my personality as Celestine Omehia and because of their beliefs in my programmes, my ideologies and what I can offer them. So, people followed me and I still believe that the 2011 election was won in Rivers State by APGA, led by me. Be that as it may, we also know that the people of Rivers State believe in the ruling party. That is the truth. The main political class in Rivers State are members of the PDP. They have their followership. They have people who can make a lot of change both in the rural areas and in Port Harcourt city. So, the majority they command will look towards the PDP and effectively vote for the PDP.
Do you think that the other aggrieved aspirants will work for Barrister Nyesom Wike, the PDP governorship candidate?
I think so because the issue is always like that. The issue is not that there shouldn’t be a quarrel or misunderstanding within a family. The issue is settling the quarrel. That is what can unite a family and bring people together. Those aspirants are members of the same family of the PDP. Some of them have vowed that they are not going to leave the PDP. They are not going to leave the family. If that is the case, it simply means that they are also amenable to reconciliation. I believe that many of them will work for the PDP.
Are you confident that the people will vote for Wike, considering the fact that Wike and the incumbent governor, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, are from the same senatorial district?
This time, it is not the matter of ethnicity. It is a political matter. It is the interest of the party and the family you belong to that makes a difference. If they have found Nyesom Wike as the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP and not the gubernatorial candidate for Ikwerre people, not gubernatorial candidate for Obio/Akpor Local Government, it simply means that the PDP where they belong is the centrepiece of the action. In that case, they will want to work for the success of the PDP in Rivers state.
