A group of Rivers State indigenes under the aegis of Rivers Diaspora Network (RDN) has endorsed the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Pastor Tonye Cole for March 11, 2023, Governorship Election in the State.
Membership of RDN which is made up of Rivers State professionals, and social and ethnic groups across North America, Europe, Asia, and South America, believe that Tonye Cole is the right man to occupy the number one political office in Rivers State come May 29, 2023.
The decision to endorse Tonye Cole was reached after an enlarged stakeholder’s virtual meeting of the group held recently in Maryland, United States of America.
A 10-paragraph communique issued at the end of the meeting and signed by Sobere Opusunju, the United Kingdom coordinator of RDN, and Chief Abani Iloni, who joined the meeting from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, noted that the group decided to throw their weight behind Pastor Cole because he has shown a strong commitment to the development of Rivers State.
According to them, Pastor Cole has demonstrated zeal, passion, enthusiasm, and the will to serve Rivers People, saying if allowed to be Governor, he is going to entrench a new governance order that will positively transform the State for the benefit of the people.
“We have unanimously endorsed Pastor Tonye Cole as the next Governor of our dear State, Rivers. Tonye Cole is an illustrious son of Rivers with a resounding track record of excellence and distinction in both private and public practice. We do not doubt our minds that he will bring his wealth of experience to bear in the politics and governance of the State if elected in the forthcoming governorship election.”
“Tonye Cole is a fine gentleman, intelligent, hardworking, resourceful, young, and energetic. He is the person Rivers State needs at this time to engineer the process of restoring the lost glory of the state.
“We urge all Rivers’ sons and daughters both home and abroad to look the way of Pastor Cole and give him the overwhelming support he deserves to win the election,” they said.
RDN said their endorsement of Pastor Cole is without sentiment, noting that a State such as Rivers, which has been seriously polarised by the incumbent governor, needs a man like Cole to unite the people and lay a solid foundation for rapid development.
“Rivers State needs a leader whose personality inspires peace, away from the overweening and combative style of leadership we have witnessed in the last seven-and-the-half years. It is time to put one of our best forwards,” the communique added.
This endorsement is coming barely a month after Tonye Cole engaged with members of Rivers Diaspora Network, RDN in Washington DC, during his recent visit to the United States of America where he was invited to attend the USA-Africa Leadership Summit hosted by President Joe Biden.
According to a statement released in Maryland, USA after the Summit by the TCCO diaspora group chairman, Tex Wariboko, Tonye Cole’s invitation and attendance of the Summit was a major boost and moment of pride for sons and daughters of Rivers State which is widely known to parade resourceful and innovative people with creative and entrepreneurial abilities.
“Tonye Cole is a very brilliant fellow who has made presentations at various intellectual fora across the globe.
“So, we were not surprised that he was invited to the United States to participate in USA/Africa leadership summit organised by President Joe Biden. A man with such intellectual depth and exposure fits the bill to become the next governor of Rivers State.
He has both international exposure and a strong grassroots connection. Imagine what Rivers State stands to benefit with this man in the saddle”, Tex Wariboko said.
Meanwhile, the Rivers Diaspora Network has condemned last Thursday’s reported explosion at the venue of a rally by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, describing the incident as most unfortunate.
The group in a statement wondered why some persons are still involved in the politics of violence which undermines democracy and governance, calling on security agencies to fish out perpetrators of the dastardly act and prosecute them to serve as a deterrents.
RDN calls on Rivers people, particularly youths across party lines in the State to play by the rules of the game and resist attempts by anyone or group of persons bent on using them to cause trouble during this period of electioneering.
They called on Pastor Tonye Cole not to be distracted by the ugly incident, urging him to continue with his campaign activities to secure maximum support and votes in the March 11 Governorship Election in Rivers State.
