How Jonathan, His Wife, Others Influenced Wike’s Emergence in Rivers State — Edwin Clark

South-South leader Edwin Clark has revealed that following the end of former Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s tenure in 2015, former President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience, urged the people of Rivers State to support Nyesom Wike for governorship, despite it being the turn of the Ijaw people.

Clark, an elder statesman, noted that aside from divine intervention, the key supporters who propelled Wike to his current political status were the Ijaws, including himself. As Amaechi’s government concluded its eight-year tenure in 2015, there was a strong consensus among the Rivers Ijaws that it was their turn to lead the state. Alabo Tonye Douglas, a four-time minister, led the call for an Ijaw governor, highlighting the fairness and justice of their claim. Many qualified Ijaw candidates, with extensive experience at both state and federal levels, presented themselves for the role.

In an open letter dated June 9, 2024, addressed to Senator George Sekibo, and made available to journalists in Abuja, Clark warned against overstating Wike’s role in Rivers politics concerning the Ijaws. He emphasized that it would be unfair for the Ijaws, being the majority, to be excluded from governance for 16 years, potentially extending to 24 years under another Ikwerre leader.

Clark explained that former President Jonathan pleaded with the Ijaws to support Wike during an election year in which Jonathan sought re-election. Clark’s letter to Sekibo was a response to Sekibo’s recent press briefing in Yenagoa, Bayelsa, where Sekibo and others visited Ijaw National Congress leader, Prof. Benjamin Okaba. The letter was also copied to President Bola Tinubu, Secretary to the Government of the Federation Senator George Akume, and Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State.

Sekibo had stated that the Rivers Ijaw People’s Congress supported Wike, who demonstrated his commitment to the Ijaw nation despite political crises in Rivers State. Clark expressed the initial shock of the Ijaw people at having to support Wike but noted they did so out of respect for Jonathan and his wife and for the sake of peace. Wike’s highest positions before becoming a minister were as local government chairman and later Chief of Staff to Amaechi.

Clark, leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, recounted how Amaechi persuaded Jonathan to appoint Wike as Minister of State for Education, eventually leading to his role as acting minister. He advised Sekibo and his group to exercise caution in their dealings with the FCT Minister and accused Wike of contradictions and inconsistencies, from his promises during the PDP primaries to his disparaging remarks about the APC, describing his actions as fickle.