By CHARLES IWUOHA

A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has appealed to Rivers State people not to repeat the same mistake of 2015 in the 2027 elections.

Eze said that the political and developmental challenges confronting the State today are the direct consequences of the decision taken during the 2015 governorship election for ignoring the passionate appeal of then Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, who urged Rivers people to reject Nyesom Wike at the polls.

In a statement made available to newsmen on Tuesday, Eze said Amaechi had warned that the choice before Rivers people in 2015 was between light and darkness, as he presented the APC governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, as a visionary leader with the competence, character, and capacity to sustain the remarkable developmental strides recorded between 2007 and 2015.

"Unfortunately," Eze stated, "through the influence of powerful political forces at the centre and circumstances that remain part of our political history, Rivers State ended up on a path that has brought over eleven years of stagnation, division, insecurity, institutional decline, and the dismantling of many of the visionary programmes that once made Rivers State a model of development in Nigeria."

Eze maintained that history has since vindicated Amaechi's position. He noted that Dakuku Peterside's outstanding performance as Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), clearly demonstrated the quality of leadership Rivers State lost in 2015.

According to him, had Peterside been elected Governor, Rivers State would have consolidated on the developmental foundation laid by the Amaechi administration and emerged as one of Africa's leading sub-national economies.

The ADC chieftain, lamented that, “Rivers State has witnessed years of political instability, abandoned policies, weakened institutions, and avoidable crises that culminated in the unprecedented declaration of a State of Emergency through the acts of Nyesom Wike—an unfortunate development that brought national embarrassment to the state.”

He further accused the Wike administration of systematically dismantling several legacy projects and reforms initiated during Amaechi's tenure, particularly in education, agriculture, healthcare, youth empowerment, and security. He argued that rather than building on existing achievements, successive administrations chose the path of political vendetta at the expense of the collective interests of Rivers people.

Speaking on the 2027 governorship election, Eze condemned in strong terms what he described as Wike's repeated boast of determining who becomes the next Governor of Rivers State.

"No individual, regardless of his political influence, owns Rivers State. The era of political godfatherism must come to an end. Any attempt by anyone to impose a Governor on Rivers people is not only undemocratic but a direct assault on the sovereignty of the electorate. Rivers people must reject such a devilish agenda with every democratic means available to them," he declared.

Eze recalled that since the return to democratic rule in 1999, the governorship of Rivers State has largely remained within the upland axis through the administrations of Dr. Peter Odili, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, and Chief Nyesom Wike, who together governed the State for twenty-four years.

He therefore described attempts to perpetuate power within the same political circle as unjust, divisive, and contrary to the principles of equity, fairness, and inclusion that have sustained peace in the state.

He argued that Rivers State now has a historic opportunity to restore justice and rebuild public confidence through ADC, which he described as the credible political platform established by patriotic leaders, including Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, to rescue the State from years of political oppression and misrule.