Party’s scribe endorses Amaechi for 2011

By Jimitota Onoyume
PORT HARCOURT—IN what many would described as endorsement of  River’s Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, as the PDP’s standard bearer in the 2011 election, National Secretary of the party, Alhaji Abubakar Baraji, yesterday in Port Harcourt, cleared the governor to run on the platform of the party in the next gubernatorial election.

This comes as the party’s National Legal Adviser, Chief Olusola Oke, expressed the party’s satisfaction with the performance record of the Amaechi administration.

Baraje, who spoke after the governor presented his account of stewardship to Rivers’ people at the Alfred Diete Spiff  Sports Complex, Port Harcourt, said the party was very happy with the achievement of Amaechi’s administration in the last two years. Noting that the party’s ticket would only be won on account of performance and credibility, Baraji described the governor as a visionary leader, even as he drew a thunderous applause from the mammoth gathering.

“Highly visionary governor of Rivers State, there is no automatic ticket for anybody. It is your performance in office that can give you automatic ticket.

“I don’t have the mandate of the chairman of the party  to declare right here that our governor has automatic ticket but I can tell you, as the chief custodian of records, that I can go to sleep by advising the leadership of the party that Amaechi is a performing governor, a people’s governor”.

He is a governor of the people, of the nation and accepted by the PDP.”

Chief Olusola Oke, on his part, said he lived in the state between 2000 and 2004 and was, therefore, in a position to tell the difference between then and now.

He said:  “I want to report that we are satisfied with your activities because you are representing the PDP and the people well.

“The era for PDP’s automatic ticket is gone and let me announce that we do not change in working formula; wherever our governors are delivering, we do not change our formula and I can tell you that the Rivers State governor is performing.

“We are happy that we have come here to see things for ourselves and we shall report back to Abuja that the governor is living by the mandate of his people.”

In his speech, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, reiterated the firm resolve of his administration to continue to deliver on its mission statement.

Noting that his government would continue to take steps to promote peace and development in the state, the governor also graciously thanked the State House of Assembly and the judiciary for their support to the executive arm in the state to be able to deliver on the dividends of democracy.

Hailing the Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia (SAN), for what he termed effective representation of the state, the governor described him as one of the finest gentlemen from the state.

In his brief remark, the Minister of State Mr.  Ajumogobia, also lauded the achievement of the government in the last two years