Nobody Can Hijack Rivers PDP, Says Anyanya
A governorship aspirant on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Major Lancelot Anyanya (rtd) has dismissed insinuations that the state chapter of the party has been hijacked by the immediate past Minister of State for Education Chief Nyesom Wike.
Anyanya spoke Thursday in Abuja shortly after collecting his governorship nomination at the party's national secretariat.
“It is an insulting to purport that one man has or can hijack our great party, the Peoples
Democratic Party, a party that draws its strength from the people and one that gives power to the people. One man can't own PDP.
“We have implicit confidence in the leadership of our great party to conduct free, fair and transparent primaries. Anybody who is claiming to be planning to, or already hijacked the party at any level must be delusional,” submitted the aspirant.
He reminded that PDP was a party founded on the principle of justice, the reason he said the party enshrined zoning and rotation of elective offices in its constitution.
“The constitution of PDP was crafted to discourage all forms of oppression. Our great party therefore cannot be part of plot by persons who may wish to foster political oppression in Rivers State.
“The principle of zoning and rotation of offices as enshrined in our party's constitution is very explicit on how elective offices should be contested. We are very confident that our national leadership will uphold this in Rivers State and all parts of Nigeria,” stressed the aspirant.
Anyanya, the immediate past chairman of the board of National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) lamented that Rivers state has over the years slipped from its position as the most developed state after Lagos.
He reminded that as a young governor, Commander Alfred Diette-Spiff had put Rivers State on the global map by building the best state secretariat in the country, among other projects.
Anyanya, who was accompanied by several PDP chieftains, including Chief Bekinbo Soberekon, regretted that Rivers State had so greatly slipped from the enviable heights to become the laughing stock of the south-south region.
The aspirant said his decision to seek the governorship seat was borne out of the desire to bring his wealth of experience as a military officer, a public servant, an administrator, and a manager of resources and persons to leadership of the state.
He disclosed he had sought the face of God and was convinced that he had a divine mission to rescue Rivers State.
“Rivers State is almost 100 percent PDP. What we seek to do is to bring all those who have for one reason or the other left the party back into this big umbrella.
If elected governor, promised Anyanya, he would focus on education, security, agriculture, job and wealth creation, infrastructure, health care, among other sectors.
The retired military officer also disclosed that his life of service and discipline began at the age of 11 when he enrolled at the Nigerian Military School, NMS, through the Nigeria Defence Academy.
His commission into the Army at a relatively young age thrust tremendous leadership responsibilities on his shoulders, said the aspirant.
He stressed that life in the military prepared him to face the challenges of life, and honed him for leadership.
He predicted that PDP would win the governorship seat in Rivers State in addition to a landslide victory for President Goodluck Jonathan.
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