A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has urged the people of Rivers State not to repeat what he described as the “costly mistake” of the 2015 governorship election, insisting that the 2027 polls offer an opportunity to restore the state’s lost glory.
In a press statement issued on Sunday, Eze argued that Rivers State’s current political and developmental challenges stem from the decision by voters to ignore the warning of former Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who had urged the electorate in 2015 to reject then-PDP candidate Nyesom Wike and support APC governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside.
According to Eze, Amaechi had presented Peterside as a capable leader who would have sustained the developmental achievements recorded between 2007 and 2015. He claimed that the state has instead experienced over a decade of political instability, weakened institutions, insecurity, and abandoned development programmes.
The former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New PDP (nPDP) also praised Peterside’s tenure as Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), arguing that it demonstrated the quality of leadership Rivers State lost in 2015.
Eze further accused the Wike administration of dismantling key projects and reforms initiated during Amaechi’s government, particularly in education, healthcare, agriculture, youth empowerment, and security.
Commenting on the 2027 governorship election, Eze criticized what he described as Wike’s repeated claims that he would determine who succeeds Governor Siminalayi Fubara, insisting that no individual has the right to impose a governor on Rivers people.
“The era of political godfatherism must come to an end. Any attempt to impose a governor on Rivers people is undemocratic and must be resisted through democratic means,” he said.
The ADC chieftain also argued that equity demands a shift in the state’s leadership, noting that the governorship has remained within the upland axis since 1999 through the administrations of Peter Odili, Rotimi Amaechi, and Nyesom Wike.
He described the ADC as the platform positioned to rescue Rivers State from what he called years of political decline and expressed confidence in the party’s governorship candidate, Dr. Gabriel Pidomson, and his running mate, Dr. Okumgba David Amapaka.
According to Eze, Pidomson’s emergence is historically significant because he hails from the Ogoni ethnic nationality, which, he said, has never produced a governor, deputy governor, chief judge, or speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
He appealed to Rivers voters to embrace what he described as a new direction in 2027, saying the election presents an opportunity to rebuild institutions, restore public confidence, and return the state to the path of development.
Eze concluded by warning that failure to reject what he termed “the politics of darkness and oppression” could leave future generations to bear the consequences of continued political decline in Rivers State.
