Clark: There Won’t Be Peace in Nigeria Without Restructuring
•Blesses Delta LP governorship candidate
Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
Elder statesman and leader of the Niger Delta, Chief Edwin Clark, has urged the incoming administration in Nigeria to restructure the country to achieve peace.
The foremost Ijaw leader, stated this when he gave his blessings to the Labur Party governorship candidate in Delta State, Mr. Ken Pella, in his Asokoro, Abuja residence, yesterday.
Clark said, “We want a better Nigeria, a new Nigeria, if you don’t restructure Nigeria, it will be very difficult to maintain peace in this country. Nobody is going to be second class citizen and another one first class citizen in the same country. No one will allow it.
“That was the reason we celebrated the 17 governor’s declaration, popularly known as the Asaba Declaration, which agreed that the presidency should be zoned to the South.”
Clark said the Asaba Declaration informed the decision of the Southern, Middle Belt Leaders Forum to reject any of the southern governors that supported northern presidential candidate.
He said, “We agreed that we will not support any governor that supports a northern presidential candidate. Governor Ifeanyi Okowa did it, so we are no longer with him and the Peoples Democratic Party.
“The message was well received by Delta people and I was not surprised that the people voted for change, voted for Obidient. We rejected PDP, because of their treachery.”
Clark said he had already promised to support the All Progressives Congress Governorship Candidate in Delta State, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege in his personal capacity but that the LP candidate, Pella, has his blessings.
“When I agreed to support Omo-Agege, I was not aware that Labour Party has a candidate, it is only of recent that I was told that you are the candidate of the Labour Party, but you have been bought over by Okowa. I said No! I know this young man’s father, Pela, during the civil war, when I was Commissioner for Finance in the Midwest State.
“When Baptist Girls school was closed in Agbor because of the war, I opened Baptist High school in Benin City and I appointed his father as the principal of that school because his father was a first class gentleman.
“You will have my blessings and if my sons are in the field, whoever follows the process and wins is my governor. My hope, whoever becomes the governor of Delta State, my home state, should be a straight forward person, competent, respected, and character.
“He should be someone, who would move us forward, not who wants to make money at the expense of the state. Nothing can prevent me from giving my blessing, so, God will therefore guide you.”
An elated Pella, after receiving the blessing from Clark, told journalists that Labour Party has a better chance to win the governorship election in Delta State on Saturday.
