{"id":288900,"date":"2011-03-03T23:00:43","date_gmt":"2011-03-03T23:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/03\/in-rivers-it%e2%80%99s-amaechi-vs-sekibo-kunumgbe\/"},"modified":"2011-03-03T23:00:43","modified_gmt":"2011-03-03T23:00:43","slug":"in-rivers-its-amaechi-vs-sekibo-kunumgbe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/03\/in-rivers-its-amaechi-vs-sekibo-kunumgbe\/","title":{"rendered":"In Rivers, it\u2019s Amaechi vs Sekibo- Kunumgbe"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

AZU AKANWA, ONLINE EDITOR<\/strong>
Chief Martins Joseph Aso-Ateli Kunumgbe is Leader of Rivers People Congress (RPC), a political pressure group in Rivers State. He is also the royal head of the Okirika people of Rivers State in Lagos and a chieftain of the Ijaw Youths Development Association (IYDA). Chief Kunumgbe reviewed the political situation in Rivers State and concluded that the state needs a performing leader who will sustain the current peaceful environment in the state.<\/p>\n

Are you at home with the political Situation in your home state Rivers?<\/p>\n

Yes. It is quite better now than in the previous governments. For instance, the last voters\u2019 registration exercise in the state was peaceful. There were no cases of snatching of DDC machines and no violence of any sort and in the last concluded primaries in Rivers State, the\u00a0 maturity of the candidates was exemplary.<\/p>\n

How do see the forth-coming elections in Rivers, especially as regards the governorship election?<\/p>\n

There are many political parties and many gubernatorial candidates in the state just like any other state in the federation, but there are only two prominent contestants and I believe the politics of Rivers State gubernatorial election will revolve around these two. They are the current governor,\u00a0 Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Dr. Abiye Sekibo of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). People are watching. It will be like a drama.<\/p>\n

How do you mean?<\/p>\n

The two main contestants mean different things to different people. For Dr. Sekibo, during the Ada George period,\u00a0 he was a personal assistant; he was the Secretary of the State Government during the era of\u00a0 Peter Odili and later became Minister of Transport. He has the experience and I think with this kind of profile, he can also be a force to reckon with. As for the incumbent governor, his achievements are there to speak for him.<\/p>\n

He equally has experience. He was Speaker for almost eight years and Special Adviser to the Ada George Government on Student Affairs. He has seen what it means to run a state and is doing very well as the governor. For instance, in\u00a0 my village Ogoloma where I am the Chief of Kunumgbe war canoe house, he has built craft centre, health centre, schools and completed the failed project of the Odili Government which is the Okirika Ring Road. Give him more time and he will do better.<\/p>\n

You are from Okirika and you believe the governor has done well there. What of other parts of the state or is it because he has done well in your community?<\/p>\n

No, not at all. Governor Amaechi is trying. Take security for instance, kidnaping has reduced. Killings and all sorts of criminal activities have reduced unlike before when people were running here and there in the state. He has increased allowance for Pilgrimage from $500 to $1,000.<\/p>\n

He wants his people to feel the impact of the little he is getting from federal allocation. So I can say that the governor is trying his best because peace is the ultimate and I can tell you that there is relative peace in Rivers State now compared to what it used to be. There are no more rampant shootings on the streets and you can go about your normal business. That to me, among\u00a0 many other things he has done is great achievement.<\/p>\n

What is your advice for the people of Rivers at a time like this?<\/p>\n

I will ask them to search their conscience and choose leaders that will ensure proper development of the state. What the people\u00a0 want is good living condition. What they want is something that can improve Rivers State.\u00a0 Don\u2019t think about sentiments, don\u2019t think about yourself. Think about the future of our children.<\/p>\n

What is your take on the Goodluck\/Sambo ticket?<\/p>\n

Jonathan has not contested election in his life before. This is the first time Jonathan\u00a0 is contesting an election. It is God and it has not happened before. There is God\u2019s hand in it. It has a divine touch and I will say what God has joined together, let no man put asunder. And you can see this in the way he has been accepted by Nigerians. No president had been accepted like this.<\/p>\n

Even during the Yar\u2019Adua period, the way he handled things. He handled things in a mature and perfect way that today Nigeria is still one. It is because he kept Nigeria together that\u2019s why we are even talking of national elections today. I am not talking as an Ijaw\u00a0 man, but as a sincere Nigerian.<\/p>\n

Nigeria needs someone that can keep the country together no matter where he comes from. After all, we have had big names before and what happened? This man has no name but God has given him a name. He can do better than those who ruled Nigeria with silver spoon and yet nothing to show for it. We don\u2019t want them again.<\/p>\n

Is it all about a divine emergence? Has he done much to convince Nigerians of his competence?<\/p>\n

If we begin to list them, we won\u2019t leave here. Right from the military era, all through the former civilian administrations, have you heard of Nigeria rescuing its citizens from troubled nations? If you like die in any country no one cared. But see how the Jonathan government brought back stranded Nigerians from Egypt and Libya.<\/p>\n

Now there is respect for the life of a citizen. It means that one Nigerian citizen is equal to any other citizen in the world. Where are the fuel queues?\u00a0 Has there not been an improvement in power supply? The Niger Delta is calm. What other achievements do you want? When there is peace and power supply, people will find their feet and there will be jobs. I believe he is competent to steer the ship of leadership of the country.<\/p>\n

What is your advice for the youths of Niger Delta?<\/p>\n

They have already laid down their arms. I can only tell them to be focused and shun anything that will tarnish the image of the region. All we need now is proper development of the region.<\/p>\n

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AZU AKANWA, ONLINE EDITOR Chief Martins Joseph Aso-Ateli Kunumgbe is Leader of Rivers People Congress (RPC), a political pressure group in Rivers State. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-288900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nIn Rivers, it\u2019s Amaechi vs Sekibo- Kunumgbe - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/03\/in-rivers-its-amaechi-vs-sekibo-kunumgbe\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"In Rivers, it\u2019s Amaechi vs Sekibo- Kunumgbe - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"AZU AKANWA, ONLINE EDITOR Chief Martins Joseph Aso-Ateli Kunumgbe is Leader of Rivers People Congress (RPC), a political pressure group in Rivers State.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/03\/in-rivers-its-amaechi-vs-sekibo-kunumgbe\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/03\/in-rivers-its-amaechi-vs-sekibo-kunumgbe\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"In Rivers, it\u2019s Amaechi vs Sekibo- Kunumgbe\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-03T23:00:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/03\/in-rivers-its-amaechi-vs-sekibo-kunumgbe\/\"},\"wordCount\":1076,\"commentCount\":0,\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/03\/in-rivers-its-amaechi-vs-sekibo-kunumgbe\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/03\/in-rivers-its-amaechi-vs-sekibo-kunumgbe\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/03\/in-rivers-its-amaechi-vs-sekibo-kunumgbe\/\",\"name\":\"In Rivers, it\u2019s Amaechi vs Sekibo- Kunumgbe - 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