How Clark, Jonathan, and others coerced Wike to take Rivers
ABUJA—South South Leader Edwin Clark stated that following the term of former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi in 2015, former President Goodluck Jonathan and his spouse, Patience, implored the
populace to support Nyesom Wike for governorship, even though it was the Ijaw people’s turn.
The elder statesman claimed that, aside from God, the Ijaws—including himself—were the main forces behind Wike’s current political ascent. He further stated that, when Amaechi’s administration came to an
end in 2015 after eight years, the Rivers Ijaws once again insisted that it was their time to assume power in Rivers State, and this time, there was widespread agreement among the populace.
According to him, at this moment, all Ijaw people, led by four-time minister Alabo Tonye Douglas, insisted that an Ijaw man take the lead because they believed it to be only fair and reasonable. As a result, a large
number of Ijaw sons and daughters with a variety of qualifications put themselves up.
Since there was no question that it was an Ijaw man’s turn, he pointed out that nearly all of them had held
high positions at both the state and federal levels.
Sen. George Sekibo, the senator representing Rivers East, received an open letter from Clark dated June 9, 2024, which was made available to journalists yesterday in Abuja. In it, Clark cautioned Sekibo about the
need for caution when exaggerating Wike’s role in Rivers politics with regard to the Ijaws, pointing out that the majority of Ijaw people stressed how unfair it would be for them to be shut out for 16 years and
for another Ikwere man to take over for 24 years.
He claimed that former President Jonathan begged them to give Wike a chance in the midst of an election year where he was running for central government again.
In response to Sekibo’s news conference in Yenagoa, Bayelsa, when he and other attendees visited Prof. Benjamin Okaba, the leader of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), the leader of the Southern and Middle-
Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) emailed Sekibo.
President Bola Tinubu, Senator George Akume, Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, all copied the open letter.
Recall that, speaking on behalf of the leaders, Sekibo stated that the Rivers Ijaw People’s Congress, or RIPCO, was in favor of Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Wike has
shown his love for the Ijaw nation, despite assertions made by some due to the political unrest roiling Rivers State.
Clark observed that the entire Ijaw community in Rivers State and all the other states was shocked by the development, but they felt compelled to soft-pedal and support Wike to run for office out of respect for
Jonathan and his wife and for the sake of maintaining peace. At the time, Wike held the highest position in the local government before moving to Abuja, and he later served as Amaechi’s chief of staff, which
was a family member.
Wike became the Minister of State for Education when Jonathan nominated him, and he later served in that capacity when Prof. Ruqayyah Rufa’i was relieved of her duties.
Wike was accused by Clark of being a man of contradiction and inconsistency, from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, primaries, where he vowed to support whomever emerged as candidate, to his
vow not to be minister, to his scathing criticism of the All Progressives Congress, APC, which he likened to a cancerous party. Clark asked Sekibo and his group to exercise caution in the way and manner they go
about the affairs of the FCT Minister.
