By Tekena Amieyeofori
In mid-2003, the now-defunct Argus Newspaper ran a controversial cover story: “Odili Sells Rivers State to Ikwerres.” The political elite sneered and called it junkyard journalism. With hindsight, that story was not junk. It was a diagnosis. It was a prophecy.
Four years later, as his tenure wound down, Odili anointed two illustrious Ikwerre sons from the same Ubima kindred as his successors. Celestine Omehia and Rotimi Amaechi were pitted against each other, splitting the PDP-controlled state into two camps. In its wisdom, the Supreme Court pronounced Amaechi the valid PDP candidate under whose platform Omehia had been elected governor in May 2007.
To his credit, Amaechi ran an all-inclusive government that pushed even development across the 23 LGAs and three senatorial districts. At the end of his tenure, he backed Dr. Dakuku Peterside, an Ijaw man, to take over. The young, vibrant, and cerebral Dr. Peterside was rejected by his own kith and kin.
Dame Patience Jonathan, former First Lady, was bent on installing Wike to spite Amaechi over their 2015 political differences. In a multi-ethnic state like Rivers, Amaechi and his supporters protested another Ikwerre succeeding Ikwerre as governor, calling it a violation of political equity and justice. But the former First Lady and her allies, mostly the Ijaw political elite, insisted on Wike. He was elected in 2015.
As governor, Wike built his own structure and consolidated power. Leaving office, he single-handedly installed Siminalayi Fubara, an Ijaw civil servant, as successor. That relationship strained not long after Fubara’s 2023 inauguration. After a prolonged fight, Fubara has been trounced and left a lame duck in the Brick House.
Many expected Wike to shop for another Ijaw politician or one from the Ogoni axis to replace Fubara. Instead, he has strategically planted three Ikwerre men: OK Chinda, Sam Ejekwu, and Chima Boms, plus Ben Eke, his in-law from Ahoada East, under his rainbow coalition to take over in 2027.
This arrangement is neither altruistic nor coincidental. It is a deliberate decision to perpetuate Ikwerre governorship in Rivers State. It implies one ethnic group is born to rule, while others are born to follow. That is the kind of political subjugation that has sparked resistance movements throughout history.
The political alienation of other ethnic groups in Rivers State is both immoral and unconstitutional. To tell an Engenni man he can only be Commissioner for Special Duties but never governor is to rank his humanity. That is a moral injury. If the Etche and Ogoni pay taxes and obey laws but are structurally shut out of power for 26 years, the state is governing them without their real consent.
The unconstitutional implication is not far-fetched. Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution provides that the composition of government must reflect diversity to “promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty.” While that provision targets the centre, its spirit binds states and LGAs. Therefore, the exclusion of 19 local governments from executive power to favour only three and a half Ikwerre-dominated LGAs breaches the 1999 Constitution.
It was Tacitus, the Roman senator and historian, who declared: “A desire to resist oppression is implanted in the nature of man.” Outside the APC and PDP duopoly under Wike’s rainbow coalition, the ADC and NDC have emerged as a third force to counter his game of political alienation in 2027.
NDC and its Candidate
The NDC, a new kid on the block, is making waves nationally with the formidable Obi/Kwankwaso presidential ticket. Obi has the stronger appeal in Rivers, where he secured 23.4% of the officially declared votes in 2023 under Labour Party. But with Labour now part of Wike’s rainbow coalition, it is hard to say if that feat will be replicated in 2027.
Billionaire businessman Dumo Lulu-Briggs is the NDC governorship candidate. The Kalabari-born oil magnate is a renowned philanthropist who has touched many lives in Rivers. His Achilles’ heel, however, stems from his serial contest dating back to 2003, suggesting business as usual. Moreover, he has never held known political office and may lack the dexterity to liberate Rivers people from political alienation.
ADC as Credible Opposition
Indications are rife that the ADC is the real third force with the clout to liberate Rivers State from political siege. In the run-up to 2027, ADC conducted direct primaries in all 319 political wards in Rivers, with Sir Dr. Gabriel Pidomson polling 112,068 votes from card-carrying members. The party also has recognised chairmen across the 23 LGAs, making it the opposition party with the most formidable structure to wrest power from Wike’s siege.
The Man Gabriel Pidomson
All candidates vying for governor are suitably qualified in their own right. But Ogundu Kingsley Chinda of the APC, Sam Ejekwu of the PDP, Chima Boms of the LP, and Ben Eke of the Action Alliance are known allies of the FCT Minister, fronted under the rainbow coalition to actualise the perpetuation of Ikwerre governorship.
Pidomson runs on a platform that truly symbolises a third force in 2027. He brings the combined experience of a former lawmaker and one-time Secretary to the Rivers State Government. As SSG, he served as the engine room of the Omehia administration which, within five short months, left an indelible mark on the development of Rivers State, as former Governor Wike himself admitted in June 2015.
The Future of Rivers State under Pidomson’s Governorship
In his acceptance speech after emerging as the ADC candidate, Pidomson declared: “Today, the voice of hope has defeated fear. The voice of unity has defeated division. The voice of the people has defeated political intimidation. And the future has defeated the past.” He described his envisioned governance as “a trust handed to us by the people of Rivers State.”
Without a shadow of doubt, Pidomson’s governance blueprint is what Rivers needs to break free from Ikwerre political domination. But this is a daunting task that requires collective effort. Continued Ikwerre dominance fuels the narrative of marginalisation and instability in the “Nation’s Treasure Base.”
Unfortunately, the Ijaw political elite that created a political Frankenstein monster in Wike have been completely decimated, sulking hopelessly in their closets. Rivers State appears to have been pocketed by one man bestriding the political scene like a colossus in the politics of 2027. But the onus lies with the people to reclaim their political rights.
Therefore, all well-meaning Ikwerre sons and daughters, and their counterparts across the 23 LGAs, must rise to this moment. They must resist the perpetuation of Ikwerre governorship for personal gain and put the interest of Rivers State above ethnic and personal consideration to actualise the dreams of its founding fathers.
Wike’s siege will not dismantle itself. The Brick House is not an inheritance. Rivers people must take it back with their votes, their voice, and their refusal to be governed where they are not represented.