Rivers 2027: APC, NDC Governorship Candidates Explain Absence At Citizens’ Charter Event

The event, held in Port Harcourt, was organised by the Rivers Peace Initiative to encourage governorship candidates to commit to prioritising the needs of residents if elected in 2027.

Five governorship candidates attended the event: Dr. Gabriel Pidomson of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Barrister Ivy West of the African Action Congress (AAC), Rev. Minaibim Harry of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), Professor Ben John of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Chief Nature Kieghe of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP).

The absence of Chinda and Lulu-Briggs, who are regarded as frontline contenders in the 2027 governorship election, had continued to generate concerns.

However, the APC spokesman in Rivers State, Hon. Chibike Ikenga, told LEADERSHIP that the party’s governorship candidate was not invited to the event.

“Besides, did they send an invitation to our governorship candidate? Was he favourably disposed to the date they chose? What were the issues to be discussed and who were the organisers? So, there are a whole lot of questions and until those questions are answered,” he said.

Ikenga also questioned whether the organisers adequately represented the interests of Rivers residents, arguing that the state’s population and number of registered voters were far greater than the membership of the group behind the initiative.

“By the way, who are the Rivers citizens? Rivers citizens and those who stay in Rivers State are over seven million people and over three million voters. So, those are people concerned. After all, all of us should be testing our popularity in the next few days. Not an organisation that is just about five or six persons. So these are some of the issues that must be addressed,” he said.

Also speaking with LEADERSHIP, Oby Ndukwe, an ally of the APC governorship candidate, said she did not know whether Chinda had received an invitation.

She argued that the charter was not binding on the candidates or the people of the state, adding that voters would ultimately determine who should govern Rivers State through the ballot.

“I don’t know if he was invited and if he acknowledged the invitation with a response to be present at the ceremony. Personally, I only heard of the event after the programme,” she said.

Ndukwe cautioned against interpreting Chinda’s absence as a rejection of the demands of Rivers residents, describing the gathering as an initiative by a group rather than a programme representing the entire state.

“When we say Rivers people may read meaning into his absence, it makes it look like it was a programme or a demand by Rivers people. It was just a group and it also is not binding on the candidates. The people’s mandate through the ballot is what is binding on the candidates and not a private or sectorial group making demands,” she said.

She maintained that voters would decide based on candidates’ engagements with communities, town hall meetings and campaigns, where they could assess their plans and commitment to meeting the people’s needs.

“Rivers people will give their mandate to the candidate they believe would prioritise their needs coming from the engagements, town halls and campaigns, the candidates will hear from the people and speak to them.

“These would determine where the people would entrust their votes. It’s not from signing any accord. That may be part of democracy but not the determinant factor for any winner to meet the demands of the people,” Ndukwe said.

She added that she believed the APC governorship candidate was engaging stakeholders through town hall meetings in different communities.

On his part, the spokesman of the NDC campaign council in Rivers State, Sotonye Ijuye-Dagogo, said Lulu-Briggs could not attend because of a conflicting political engagement in Bayelsa State.

He explained that the party’s rally in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, took place on the same day as the Rivers event.

“I remember that our friend Alwell Ene brought an invitation letter. Unfortunately, the NDC Yenagoa rally on the same day took our attention. We are sorry about it,” Ijuye-Dagogo said.

However, the convener of the Rivers Peace Initiative, Obinna Ebogidi, confirmed that invitations were sent to all governorship candidates in the state, including Chinda and Lulu-Briggs.

Ebogidi said Lulu-Briggs had a party event scheduled for the same Friday and that the organisers had tried to persuade him to send his deputy, but he declined.

He also said the organisers made several attempts to secure Chinda’s attendance, both directly and through contacts in the Coalition, but received no official response.

“Yes we did. Dumo had a party event fixed for Friday. We tried to get him to send his deputy, he declined. We made several entreaties to Chinda, directly and through notable contact in the Coalition, but he didn’t give any official response. He was the one we spent the most energy trying to get,” Ebogidi said.

He added that the organisers hoped to arrange separate ceremonies for the two candidates to enable them to engage with the charter.

“Because of the importance of the charter, we are hoping to have private individual ceremonies for them. The charter is so critical for the governance future of the state,” he said.