*Alleges that presidential campaign funds melembed by Austin Wokocha
A Chieftain of the New All Progressives Congress (NAPC) in Rivers State and a former member of the state party’s Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Dr Godpower Egbono has described Bethel Oko-Jaja’s vituperations against Chief Tony Okocha, leader of NAPC in the state as politics taken too far.
In an exclusive chat with the Towncrier Correspondent in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital on Thursday, Dr Egbono quoted Sarah Dessen’s, “But all the love in the world won’t save a sinking ship. You have to either bail or jump overboard” to describe Oko-Jaja’s diatribe as ill conceived and a calculated attempt to tarnish and rubbish the image of Chief Tony Okocha.
Dr Egbono, who is also the South South Zonal Coordinator of the Coalition of Support Groups for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (COSGABAT), one of the support groups that campaigned vigorously for the actualization of the Tinubu presidency in the just concluded 2023 presidential election said that the Spokesman of Senator Magnus Abe, Social Democratic Party (SDP) gubernatorial candidate in the state in the 2023 governorship election sounded more like a sinking man in a state of dilemma and utter bewilderment.
According to him, “but for this kind of personality, who seem to be in a seeming state of quagmire, the best for him is to find a window of escape, rather than resorting to bickering and unnecessary war of words. If he is dreaming that his ill-conceived, naughty and unprofessional media attack on Tony Okocha is politics, then that is Politics taken too far.
“The Tony Okocha I know is also a media man. But one with the penchant for decorum and respect for people. He’s very analytical with his facts and figures. He concentrates on issues and not sentiments.”
He stated that Okocha is very vocal man who present issues to the public with a deep sense of humility and respect to all concerned without unnecessary insults or attacks on people. “It is therefore highly disturbing to read this unwarranted and crude media attack on Chief Tony Okocha, and coming from a personality, who is supposed to know all that is playing out in the current political dispensation in Rivers State”, he said.
He stated that Bethel Oko-Jaja, as one of the Leaders of the party who, by commission or omission contributed to the sinking of APC and SDP in the state, his eyes should have been opened by now to look for a safer window to land. “As a respected personality, I expects him to look inwards and orchestrate effort to reconcile aggreived parties for unity and prosperity, rather than casting brazen attacks on Chief Tony Okocha,” pointing out that while other Leaders refused to withstand the storms in the party, Okocha is standing in to save the people.
He went further to describe his media outburst against Chief Okocha as absurd because he was unwittingly arousing the anger of those dedicated party faithful in Rivers State, who felt abandoned, rejected and frustrated over the years due to this crude and selfish politics, saying, “We can no longer rely on the political antics, selfishness and outright pursuit of personal agenda by our Leaders. Or how do we explain the actions of SDP and its Leadership prior to the Presidential campaigns and even during the Elections?”
He advised Bethel Oko-Jaja to desist from further media outburst against Chief Okocha but to concentrate on providing answers to the posers of why his principal and the SDP failed to campaign for President Bola Tinubu in the state and many other questions begging for answers.
Appealing to Chief Okocha to forgive Bethel Oko-Jaja and his likes in the spirit of renewed hope, he alleged that the N65 million sent to the state party PCC for the presidential campaign was’melembed’ by Austin Wokocha.