The people of Ogoni ethnic nationality of Rivers State, in a bid to produce the next governor of the state in 2019, have come together to drum support for one of its own, Senator Magnus Abe to contest the position.
Abe is the only candidate on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who has declared his intention to run for the position.
The stakeholders in the area, who came together under the aegis of Ogoni Mandate Forum, OMF, said that their reason was to save their oil-rich area from political and economic marginalisation.
OMF, at its maiden briefing in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, however, urged other ethnic groups in the state to back the call for an Ogoni governor and give opportunity for them (Ogoni) to produce the governor in 2019 in the interest of equity.
Spokesman of the group, Prince MeluBari Akekue, expressed concern that since the creation of the state, Rivers South-East senatorial district had not produced a governor, despite its huge economic contributions to the nation.
Akekue who was a former commissioner in the Rivers State Civil Service Commission said: “There has been a gap in the political frame of Rivers State concerning the engagements of Ogoni people. Our concern is to bridge any relational gap that exists between Ogoni people and their neighbours.”
