Rivers crisis: Fight for your people, Kenneth Okonkwo tells politicians

Chieftain of the Labour Party, Kenneth Okonkwo, has said any politician who is not ready to stand for the people who voted for him or her because of fear of being killed should step aside.

The former LP campaign spokesperson stated this while reacting to the drama that preceded the just-concluded Rivers State Local Government Area elections held on Saturday.

In an interview with Soar TV, Okonkwo praised the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, for ensuring that the elections took place against all odds and for fighting for the people’s rights.

He also commended Fubara’s resolve to proceed with the elections despite the pull-out of the Nigeria Police Force and pushback from supporters of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

The actor-turned-lawyer asserted that politicians like Fubara, who resist and protest when their rights are trampled upon, are needed to solidify the country’s democracy.

He said, “If you’re not willing to take the risk that is attached to any profession, step aside so that people who God gives that mind will go ahead and serve God in that capacity. If you’re a politician and you can’t stand for the people who voted for you, and because you don’t want to die, step aside. Because that’s what the job entails.

“Any politician that is not behaving like Siminalayi Fubara — who resists and protests when his rights are trampled upon, knowing that our judicial system and our electoral system have failed us, no matter the risk to his person — I will not speak for that politician again, and I maintain it.

“And you can see what is happening because the Labour Party can’t go forward. If Sim Fubara had been saying ‘calm down, calm down’, do you know where Rivers state would have been? He said he’s ready for them. He’s fully prepared. The election must go on. The election must be held. Winners must be declared. They will be sworn in, and whatever is going to happen, let it happen.

“I’m looking for leaders who would say, ‘nobody will rig my election, and if you rig my election, I will fight, and let us come out and fight’.”