ADC Chieftain Pushes for Ogoni-born Gov in Rivers

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Joe Korka-Waadah, has called on the Board Chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Senator Magnus Abe, and other stakeholders to push for an Ogoni-born governor in the 2027 general election in Rivers State.

Korka-Waadah, a political management consultant and executive director of Compassionate Heart Foundation of Canada, made the call while speaking with journalists in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

The ADC chieftain, who is also an Ogoni indigene, said: “While we respect the Senator’s long career in the corridors of power, we must state clearly that the line between deliberate coordination and permanent political procrastination has become blurred in his narrative.

“For over a decade, the Rivers’ people and the Ogoni nationality in particular have been sold the promise of a strategic roadmap that somehow always terminates in Abuja appointments for one man, while leaving the collective aspiration of the people stranded at the starting line.”

He said Abe, a strong ally of the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, should support the Ogoni-born governor rather than insisting on alleged long-term planning.

According to him, “Dr. Gabriel Pidomson’s emergence on the platform of the African Democratic Congress is not an emotional outburst. It is a masterclass in independent political strategy. We are not confronting individuals; we are confronting a broken, centralised system that believes two men must permanently alternate the destiny of 7 million Rivers’ people.

“Senator Abe speaks of long-term planning as if the political marginalisation of ethnic nationalities in Rivers State just began yesterday. How much longer must the people wait? Another eight years? Another generation?

He stressed that true political strategy is about recognising the strategic window of opportunity, adding that Rivers State is suffering from profound conflict fatigue caused by the proxy wars of the dominant factions.

“The traditional party structures are fractured and bleeding. To tell the people to wait for a comfortable, long-term plan in the middle of a live political realignment is not strategy; it is a failure of leadership. The ADC has seized the moment while others are waiting for permission.

“To label the organic, grassroots enthusiasm surrounding Dr. Pidomson’s candidacy as emotional mobilisation is an insult to the intelligence of Rivers voters. The professionals, the youth, the market women, and the elders aligning with the ADC are doing so based on cold, hard data,” he said.

While congratulating Senator Abe on his appointment to the NUPRC, a vital national assignment, he advised him to bring his wealth of experience to bear on Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector, which sorely needs it.

He added: “However, as far as the governance of Rivers State is concerned, the train has left the station. The ‘Third Path’ is no longer a theory to be debated on radio programmes; it is a live, operational political machine moving through the 23 LGAs.

“We invite the Senator, and all stakeholders who genuinely want to see an end to marginalisation and conflict, to join this moving train. The strategy is simple, clear, and currently being executed: We are building a new Rivers, and we are doing it now.”