Governor WIKE made the comment during the Twentieth Annual Conference of the Ogbakor-Ikwerre held in Atlanta Georgia, in the United States of America.
Our correspondent FELIX OJOGWU took up the issue with Professor HENRY UGBOMA of the University of Port Harcourt, who said the idea of Ikwerre ascendancy was dead on arrival.
Professor UGBOMA, who hails from Ndoni in Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area, said other ethnic nationalities in Rivers State also aspire to occupy the highest leadership positions.
He accused Governor WIKE of destroying the zoning system in the state to perpetuate what he called the Ikwerre Agenda, which former governor ROTIMI AMAECHI tried to correct.
Also speaking, a Port Harcourt-based public affairs analyst, NNA FRANK-JACK cautioned against sectional politics in Rivers State.
FRANK-JACK who is from the Orashi region, observed that those who are involved in the selection of political leaders should carry all ethnic nationalities along to avoid political crisis.
On his part; the Publicity Secretary of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, SAMUEL NWANOSIKE observed that non-Ikwerre people may have misunderstood the statement by Governor WIKE.
NWANOSIKE maintained that the Ikwerres have the fundamental right to aspire to any position of leadership, at both the state and national levels.
