Stakeholders in Rivers State have been thrown into jubilation following reports that the Rainbow Coalition of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, has settled for Alabo Dakorinama George-Kelly as its governorship aspirant for the primary elections of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
They were said to be happy that George-Kelly, who hails from the Kalabari Ijaw axis of the state, has joined the governorship race.
George-Kelly is a known political son of Wike and a loyal member of the coalition and his choice if confirmed would be in alignment with the general sentiment that someone from the riverine area should be allowed to succeed Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Trained as a Quantity Surveyor and Civil Engineer, George-Kelly served under former Governor Wike as the Commissioner for Works; retained a similar position under the incumbent governor Fubara, but resigned twice during the crisis to demonstrate his loyalty to Wike and his political family..
George-Kelly, who contested the PDP’s governorship primary in 2022 and came second after Fubara, was appointed the Director-General of Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA) by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Though the coalition was yet to officially confirm the development, a source, who spoke in confidence, said George-Kelly had already purchased the nomination and expression of interest forms of the APC for the primary.
“Among all the coalition members, George-Kelly is the only one that has purchased the APC forms and we know that he would not have done so without the consent of the Minister.
“This is a sign that he has the blessings of the coalition leader and will eventually emerge as the candidate of the APC for the election”, he said.
When asked about the fate of the House of Representatives Minority Leader, OK Chinda, who was initially speculated as the coalition’s candidate, the source said Chinda had not been totally ruled out of consideration.
He said: “This is where this game gets interesting. The leaders of the coalition is a political sage and master strategist. When the report of Chinda emerged, he weighed the reaction of members of the public.
“That report created some storm even in the coalition because Chinda hails from Obio-Akpor and some people read the development as selfish. Apart from that the name did not resonate with many stakeholders in the state.
“But immediately after the report of George-Kelly on the APC platform broke out, there was jubilation across the state. The report calmed all nerves because the name resonated among all the stakeholders especially the youths. People are happy that George-Kelly has joined the governorship race. We believe that Wike is receiving reports about the duo and analysing their personalities.
“One thing is clear. The objective is to present a loyal candidate that will appeal to all stakeholders including those, who are standing with Governor Fubara. But George-Kelly despite hailing from the riverine Ijaw area of the state, seems to have the expected mass appeal. It is not about ethnicity, it is more about personality”.
“We know that the leader of the coalition knows what he is doing. One thing is sure, the coalition will produce the candidates for the APC and the PDP in the state and the leader will engage in consultations to select one of them”.
