2023: PDP, APC gubernatorial aspirants in Rivers meet with Ijaw monarchs, leaders in Port Harcourt
Governorship aspirants of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 general election in Rivers State, have met with traditional rulers and other opinion leaders of the Ijaw nation.
The meeting was attended by mostly aspirants from the riverine axis of the state, comprising of seven local government areas.
The meeting, which also had the President of Ijaw National Congress (INC), Professor Benjamin Okaba, in attendance, was held in Port Harcourt, at the instance of a group, the Ijaw Wari Worldwide.
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Speaking during the meeting, APC frontline governorship aspirant, Prince Tonye Princewill, informed the Ijaw leaders that aspirants on the party’s platform have agreed to support whoever emerges as the its flag-bearer for the 2023 governorship election.
Princewill said: “We, the aspirants in the APC, have resolved to support whosoever that will emerge at the primaries or by consensus.
“If my brother, Ebenezer (Rev. Francis) emerges, I will wholeheartedly support him, and I also believe that he will support me if I emerge.”
The governorship hopeful stated that he joined the race to succeed Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, in order to provide the needed leadership for the people of the state.
He said: “Unity is important, but strategy is also important. Today, we have two leaders in the APC and PDP. One is led by Chief Barr. Wike and the other is led by Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi. In Rivers State, are our Ijaw kings, chiefs and elders talking to them? Are they interfacing?
“I decided to contest not because I wanted to be governor but because I wanted my people to be governed. I couldn’t understand why our fathers were disrespected and our youths disregarded.”
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