Indications have emerged that though a governorship hopeful in Rivers under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atamuno Ajubo Atamuno was cleared by his party’s screening committee, he has been publicly rejected by the massive youths of the state on what they described as non-grip of the grassroots and partisan inexperience.
Some youths who expressed their displeasure over what they characterized as lack of preparedness for the race said the aspirant who has no partisan experience cannot move beyond the party primary.
The youths led by one Tamunosiki Ekine Ekpemo who were physically rage set ablaze the campaign T-shirts of the aspirant in front of his campaign offices on Barthurst Street saying that there was no need working and supporting an unserious group.
On why they resulted to setting ablaze the campaign T-shirts, the youths explained that there was no justification for not paying them as agreed having taken the campaign train to Okrika for the aspirant’s declaration.
It was equally stated as part of their reasons, that other than tackling issues at the declaration, the aspirant went discussing other contenders and criticizing the local government council’s inability to develop Okrika, according to them it was not part of their bargain.
The youths who caused mayhem on Barthust Street last Thursday 27th November, 2014 over non-payment agreed amount for participation at the rally, vowed to stop at nothing to ensuring that the aspirant ends up at primary stage.
Meanwhile, hired youths from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST) at the Marine Base jetty decried the inability of the group called ‘Rivers Mantle Group’ which according to them lacked organizational ability to deliver on promises as well as being exact in its dealings, adding that the Rivers Mandate Group did not made it known to them that they would be traveling via waterways and wondered if such group can deliver a governor.
Most of the youths who cancelled their planned rally in support of Chief Atamuno Ajubo Atamuno’s declaration last weekend, narrate their ordeals.
Alaska Bob said: “We were not told or informed that we are passing through waters, this is rather an attempt to waste us, for me I have not travel on water before and I have to go back. Hope, have this to say, “ I am not from Okrika, they came to hire us at RSUST to attend their declaration rally at Okrika, they never told us we are going through the see” Amadi Goodhead said “How can we go back empty handed, they promise us 5k each some people 3k, they only gave us N1500 as TP until we come back, now we are back nobody is here, all of them have switched off their mobile cell phones.”
However, the staged declaration at Okrika was seemingly an Okrika affair as the aspirant who supposedly was full of himself addressed the scarce audience in Okrika dialect and when hinted, he claimed to have been addressing his people, an indication many believed was an Okrika rally rather than governorship formal declaration. ###
