.Ijaw Nation, US Group Warn Wike, Urges Sylva to Remain Calm
. Rivers Govt: Wike Not Sponsoring Protest, Sues for Peace
From Omuvwie Onohwakpor, South South Bureau Chief, The New Diplomat
As the festering accusations and counter accusations arising from the Supreme Court judgment which voided the election of Chief David Lyon of the All Progressives Congress (APC), assumed unprecedented dimension, a pan-Ijaw group known as Patriots of Ijaw Nation (PIN), have accused Rivers State Governor, Barrister Nyesom Wike, of allegedly plotting to sponsor protest against the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, and former Bayelsa State governor, Chief Timipre Sylva.
PIN in a statement made available to The New Diplomat’s South- South Bureau warned the Rivers State governor, Chief Wike to desist from an alleged planned protest against the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Sylva, stressing that Governor Wike should focus on his administration in Rivers State, and stop such sinister plots because they would be counter-productive.
PIN alleged that information reaching it indicate that Governor Wike was allegedly deploying moves to escalate protest against Sylva in front of the Abuja house of the Minister. The alleged planned protest, according to the group is tagged, “Leave Justice Mary Odili Alone,” and “is scheduled to take place in the run up to the Supreme Court hearing of the appeal for a review of the Bayelsa State governorship election judgment of February 13, 2020.”
But in a swift reaction, a source at the Rivers State Government House told The New Diplomat that Wike would never be party to any protest against the Ministers because the “ Minister is his own brother and they are all from the same Niger Delta family.” According to the source who didn’t want to be quoted the initial reaction of the State government was predicated on information available to it at that material time that the National Chairman of APC and Chief Sylva may have encouraged the protests that rocked the Abuja residence of the Odilis shortly after the Supreme Court judgment which knocked off Chief Lyon as Governor-elect of Bayelsa State. He said: “ Initially, that was the thinking. But I am not sure that information is still correct since they both denied it.”
Similarly, a United States based Niger Delta Diasporan Initiative (NDDI) advised Governor Wike to thread carefully and softly to avoid creating unnecessary tension in Rivers State. Speaking from his base in New York, Olorogun A. Okiemute, President of the NDDI cautioned the Governor to avoid “heating up the political atmosphere in Rivers State because Rivers is a complex State with Ijaws making a chunk of its configuration which should not be lost to the governor, and he needs to understand the modern dynamics about governance which preaches peace, dialogue and not hostility because it would be counter-productive if he persist in his hostility.” He said: “ Wike should be wise enough to understand that any trouble in Rivers can lead to a number of issues for him. That can create trouble for him. I guess he should understand that it was minor issues that started as rudimentary in Ekiti State that made Obasanjo to declare a State of Emergency in Ekiti. So he should be very careful not to throw the peace-loving people of Rivers State into his worrisome Wike political fire…” Olorogun Okiemute added: “ Let me be very blunt with the Governor of Rivers State. He should know that he is just a State governor sitting in an opposition party, PDP, and be extremely careful not to subject the peace-loving ethnic nationalities of Rivers State including the Ijaws, Ogonis, etc to a season of political baptism of fire. Recall that Obasanjo had on occasions in the past had cause to restore Law and Order in a problem State and he declared a State of Emergency. I am not calling on President Buhari to follow that path but Governor Wike should be careful not to escalate tension in Rivers State, and create a season of political hostilities…”
Recall that Justice Odili had presided over the apex court’s panel that quashed the victory of Chief David Lyon of All Progressives Congress (APC) on account of problems that the running mate had with his multiple names. Following the judgment, some persons had protested in front of the residence of Justice Odili last week., a development that propelled Wike to accuse Sylva and APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, of being the brains behind the protests. Both of them, however, denied the allegations. Sylva, in particular, disclaimed and denounced the protests at the jurist’s house.
But in a detailed statement by PIN’s Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kesiye Newman, the group said, among other things:
“We wish to alert the public to the credible information available to our organization indicating that River State Governor, Barrister Nyesom Wike, is mobilizing widely to stage a protest in front of the Abuja residence of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva.
“Chief Sylva is a former governor of Bayelsa State and Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC). His protégé, Chief David Lyon, won the November 16, 2019 Bayelsa State Governorship Election. The Supreme Court voided the APC victory on February 13, 2020, less than 24 hours to the inauguration. The judgment has been widely condemned, and there have been protests in Yenagoa and Abuja.
“Last week, Governor Nyesom Wike accused Sylva and the APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, of being responsible for the Abuja protests in front of the residence of Justice Mary Odili. He did not support his accusation with any facts. Thankfully, both Sylva and Oshiomhole have denied the allegations.
“Not satisfied with the maligning of the APC National Chairman and the Minister, Governor Wike is sponsoring people from his state and beyond with public funds to protest against Sylva. His argument is that he has a duty to protect Rivers State indigenes, including Justice Odili, who is married to a former Governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili. We consider this a joke taken too far.
“We would like to advise Governor Wike to stop this irresponsible mischief forthwith. If he does not know, Chief Timipre Sylva has people in his system who can always rise up to protect their own. No one has a monopoly of mischief in politics. “
The statement further alleged:“Governor Wike must understand that compared to Sylva, he is an amateur in politics and governance. His style is like that of a tout who only sees exchange of blows as the strategy for conflict management. He is a warmonger. He is permanently at war with political opponents, even in his own party.
“We find it difficult to understand why Governor Wike is buying a problem that ordinarily should not be his own matter. Or is it the case that former Bayelsa Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson, whom he mercilessly pilloried towards the end of his tenure, has used the disputed oil wells to ‘settle’ him?
“We are by this statement offering Governor Wike the generous and wise counsel to call his foot soldiers to order, to save a lot of extra work he may have to do later.
“A word is enough for the wise!”
