Dr. Minaibi Dagogo-Jack, chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria in Rivers State, has faulted the political claims of the minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, insisting that his electoral contribution in Rivers State fell far below expectations despite his loud claims of political influence.
Dagogo-Jack said the votes delivered to Governor Siminalayi Fubara and President Bola Tinubu represented less than 10 percent of the registered voters in the state, arguing that such figures do not justify the ongoing political agitation in the state.
Speaking during a press briefing aired by Symfoni TV, Dagogo-Jack expressed deep concern over the political tension rocking Rivers State, describing the situation as unhealthy and unprecedented.
He called on the church and respected elders in the state to intervene decisively and caution political actors whose actions continue to fuel unrest. According to him, Rivers State, which was once dedicated to God, should not be reduced to a place where loyalty is attributed to a single individual.
Drawing from his experience as a former governorship candidate and opposition leader, Dagogo-Jack stressed that the 2023 election results exposed a serious legitimacy gap.
He noted that only about 302,000 votes produced the current governor out of over 3.5 million registered voters, meaning more than 90 percent of eligible voters stayed away from the election. He argued that the same pattern reflected in the presidential election, where roughly 230,000 votes were recorded for Tinubu in the state.
Dagogo-Jack compared Rivers State with Kogi State, which, despite having fewer wards, delivered higher votes to the president without making political noise.
He insisted that the PFN would no longer remain silent and announced plans to mobilize the disengaged majority, emphasizing that a large portion of the votes being celebrated actually came from church members.
He reaffirmed the church’s renewed resolve to actively mobilize voters, recalling previous initiatives that compelled congregants to register and participate in elections, a strategy he said would now be intensified across Rivers State.
In his words, “You were only able to give less than 10 percent to a governor. You were able to give 200 and something, 230 something thousand votes to a president and you’re making noise about the president.”
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