The men who want to govern Rivers

234Next

25 April 2011

The men who want to govern Rivers

...so far, the campaign has been marred by accusations and counter accusations, with propaganda seemingly the main weapon now.

Mr Amaechi, 45, is the incumbent governor and the PDP candidate. He is from Ubima in Ikwerre Local Government Area and his running mate is Tele Ikuru, who is currently the deputy governor. Mr Sekibo, 53, is governorship candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria. He is from Okrika and his running mate is Serekara Barieeda Wifa. Mr Omehia is contesting under the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance. He is also from Ubima and his running mate is Tamunosisi Gogo-Jaja, a serving lawmaker.

The odds

Analysing the governorship race, Ukoha Ukiwo, a senior political science lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt, said the odds favour Mr Amaechi and the PDP. This, he said, is partly because of "the structure of the state; the nature of our political economy; everybody that is somebody leans and gives support to the incumbent".

He also said Mr Amaechi has become popular over the years because of his activities as governor. "He [Mr Amaechi] is deemed to have performed creditably well in different sectors - education, infrastructure, health," he said.