Rivers Governor, Rotimi Amaechi has said that he would not support the 2015 State governorship to be contested and/or won by any person of Ikwerre descent.
Giving his reasons whilst speaking with a delegation of chiefs and elders of Ogu/Bolo local government, Amaechi said Ikwerre people had ruled for too long and it was time for another zone to enjoy the position.
His words: “Let me thank all of you for coming and I will for the first time give you a little bit of insight into the Rivers State governorship. For those who want to be governor, I will not by law be allowed to be governor again, I have served my two terms, so from next month we just have twelve months to hand over.
“Now what to tell you is what I am now fighting for, to give the Okrika man, the Ogu/Bolo man a voice after we leave office and I can tell you why I say so”.
“If PDP is bringing an Ikwerre man to run for governorship when an Ikwerre man has run for eight years, it means that what PDP is trying to do because Ikwerre has about 1.1 million votes in the four Local Government Areas, then Ikwerre would dominate the governorship of the state.
“It means that you will never have a chance of being governor again, that’s what it means because the reason for doing that is ‘oh they are claiming we have xyz number of votes in Obio/Akpor, xyz number of votes in Port Harcourt, xyz number of votes in Ikwerre and Emohua, so only Ikwerre people.
“If they sit together, they can be electing themselves always for governorship and I have told Ikwerre people that, that young man whose ambition is blinding him must be thrown out. All Ikwerre people must rise against him and vote for a candidate from another ethnic group.
“If you people allow him and he succeeds, then forget your children. They will never be governor again because all it will take is when he finishes, another Ikwerre man will say I will run. Go and tell Ikwerre people I’m your son, don’t allow these people take it from me and Ikwerre people will back him.
“So, we must show justice and ensure that it is equitably distributed even if you are one ethnic group of 20,000 persons. You have a right to the governorship of the state. So, Ikwerre people have had their turn and I’m an Ikwerre son, my mother is Ikwerre, my father is Ikwerre, I’ve no blood from any other relationship, so Ikwerre people can’t say I am not Ikwerre”.
“I will not support governorship to go to Ikwerre in APC but as the governor of Rivers State and a frontline member of APC, if I help to ensure that we don’t allow an Ikwerre candidate in APC to allow others to take it, it means that the way to protect yourselves and your children is to vote for that candidate and not for the candidate they are bringing in PDP because Ikwerre cannot govern for another eight years”.