Apr 27, 2007

Ogoni: Politicians Urge Peace


Following disappointing and flawed regional elections, politicians have urged a commitment to peace from all political actors in River State.

Following disappointing and flawed regional elections, politicians have urged a commitment to peace from all political actors in River State.

Below is an article published by The Tide Online:

Against the backdrop of the resounding victory of the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Sir Celestine Omehia in the just concluded governorship election in Rivers State, groups in the state have continued to caution parties and individuals who lost the election against violence and remarks capable of heating up the polity.

One of such groups is the Ogoni Democratic Front which says that the people of Rivers State would not forgive any politician who would take laws into his or her hands in the quest for political power.

Speaking to newsmen in his office in Port Harcourt, the state Co-ordinator of the Ogoni Democratic Front, Deacon Godwin Kue appealed to politicians in the state to see meaningful dialogue as a decent means to resolve any differences that might exist among them, instead of using other means unwholesome.

Deacon Kue said that Rivers people were well known for their peaceful disposition, and stated that in the absence of peaceful co-existence, development would be a near impossible task.

He appealed to youths in the state to resist the temptation of being used by some politicians for their own selfish interest and gains.

Deacon Kue, who congratulated the Governor-elect, Sir Celestine Omehia on his victory, assured him of the support of the Ogoni Democratic Front as he advised other contestants who lost in the elections to join hands with Sir Omehia to move the State forward.

In a similar development, the Committee of Rivers Patriots has appealed to members of the opposition political parties to resist the temptation of causing a breach of the peace in the state.

The spokesman for the Committee of Rivers Patriots, Engineer Tein Princewill, who stated this while speaking to newsmen in his office in Port Harcourt, said that he believes those who contested the elections were responsible members of the state who were expected to see the peace of the state as sacrosanct at all times.

Engr. Princewill noted that the election has come and gone, and that there was no reason whatsoever for anyone to create a situation that would not do the people of the state any good.

He said the Patriots condemned what he described as the vaulting ambition of one or two contestants, and advised them not to see the state as a personal enterprise, but rather as the common wealth of the generality of the people.

Engr. Princewill appealed to them to seek a political solution to their grievances or formal redress at the elections petition tribunal.