Tony John, Port Harcourt
The governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Rivers State, Sen. Magnus Abe, has called on the people of the state to reject any attempt by political godfathers to impose candidates on them in the 2019 elections.
Abe made the call while addressing people of Rivers South-East senatorial district, residing in Diobu waterfronts, in Port Harcourt.
He explained that he declared his intention to run for the number one position in the state against the decision of supposed party leaders because he wanted things to be done differently to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the people.
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The lawmaker charged his supporters to shun forms of financial inducement from money bags, urging them to rather support individuals that would deliver on their promises and bring government closer to the people.
Abe, who is also the senator representing Rivers South-East in the National Assembly, stated that the state is in dire need of development in many areas, but said that could not be achieved without the right leadership in place.
The senator thanked the people for their kind support and admonished the crowd of riverine communities not to be intimidated.
The senator said, “I have no godfather, but, I have God on my side. So, you must remain resolute in your support for what is right and for the APC and we shall win”.
Speaking on behalf of the Diobu waterfront residents, Owabie Tobin, said the residents had decided to support the governorship aspiration of Abe because they believe in his ability to redeem his promise and bring development to the state.
Tobin’s words, “We have decided to support you because we believe in your ability to develop the state and not to punish the poor and allow them to continually live in abject poverty”.
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He advised Abe to learn from mistakes of some administrations in the state so that if elected governor in 2019, he would run a transparent government.
The waterfront communities, who unanimously endorsed Sen. Abe as their preferred APC candidate for the 2019 governorship election, expressed sadness that successive administrations in the state had not included the waterfront dwellers in their development agenda.
Speaking, a former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Worgu Boms said, “The coming election is not about ethnicity. Otherwise, I would have supported the present governor, Barr. Nyesom Wike or the Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi. But, it is about the truth and capacity to deliver.”