By: Charles Bermercide, Ph
Perhaps owing to an intense pressure from her paternal home, former commissioner for Information and Communication in Rivers state, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, we learnt is on the news not for a bad reason but her alleged defection to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, ( PDP) penultimate week, which the Towncrier learnt has raised concern from her former political friends.
Semenitari, who was a former Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), was also a strong loyalist of the former Minister of Transportation Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, having served under him as a former commissioner for information and Communication for about eight years before their defection to the All Progressive Congress Party (APC) on the faceoff between former president Goodluck Jonathan and the erstwhile governor.
It was not until later part of last week when the Towncrier Online got wing that the later was no longer in good term with her former boss perhaps on obvious political reasons or terms, as she was received back into the PDP by the Executive Chairman of Okrika Local Government Council, Hon Akuro Tobin and other stalwarts of the party.
It would be recalled that On July 10 or thereabout, this year, Mrs. Semenitari resigned from the APC, after transmitting a formal letter to her Ward Chairman in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State.
It is also worthy to note that Siminalaye Fubara, the Rivers State Governorship Candidate of the PDP is also from Opobo being her paternal home.
Observers believe that her return to the PDP, just like that of Chris Finebone, former Spokesman of Rivers APC who was recently sworn in as Commissioner by Governor Nyesom Wike, was to stimulate support for the Governorship candidate ahead of 2023 general elections.
The former information commissioner is a seasoned media practitioner, an expert in public relations as well in reaching out within her political space where she operates, and by extension this may have been her selling points why she was equally co-opted to join the media team of Prof. Yemi Osinbajo during the APC presidential primaries.
Respectively, when the Towncrier sorted to know about the information of her defection that was all over the news and the social media space, but no official report has been made on that direction even as talks around town still suggests she must have equally put away with the Action Alliance governorship candidate Dr. Dawari Goerge.