ONYEDI GABRIEL, Port Harcourt
Kinsmen of Senator Magnus Abe in Ogoni, Rivers State, have denied claims that their decision to host Governor Nyesom Wike to a grand reception on May 15 was motivated by their 2023 governorship interest.
The Ogoni indigenes, who met at their town hall at the weekend to conclude arrangements for the programme, said they came up with the idea to appreciate Wike for all the projects he completed in their area.
The leadership of KAGOTE, the highest Ogoni socio-cultural union comprising four councils of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme, insisted that there was no political undertone in the reception.
President of KAGOTE, Emmanuel Deeyah, asked all the indigenes of Ogoni despite their political affiliations to come out en masse to receive Wike and thank him for his developmental strides in the area.
He said the traditional rulers in Ogoni had also decided to confer on the governor a chieftaincy title on that day adding that appreciating the governor would motivate him to do more for them.
He said: “We are receiving him to show appreciation for all he has been doing for us. We feel he has done a lot for us. Everyone knows that the best thing when you want to ask for more is to say thank you.
“People are going to say he is elected as governor to do all these projects. If he spends the number of years that he has and decides not to do the jobs will he be removed from office? No he will complete his tenure.
“If we are saying thank you for the little he has done, we believe it will make him do much more than he has done.
“We are talking about the Sapenwa-Bori road. Those of us from here found it difficult to go home because it was a nightmare travelling from Port-Harcourt tl home. But now he has done the road, the first phase.
“He has also paid the contractor and mobilized the contractor to start the second phase of the road which is taking the road to Bodo dualized”.
Deeyah said the governor had also supported their people with appointments and ensured employment of their people in various offices.
The Chairman, Mobilisation Committee, Fred Kpakol, reiterated that the grand reception was devoid of 2023 politics.
“What we are doing here is to appreciate the governor for what he has done. It has no political undertone. It is neither PDP nor APC, all the parties are in line. Every person from Ogoni land is involved here. We are just appreciating him for what he has done”, he said.