Wike Says God Used Dan Orbih to Make Him Rivers Governor

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, says the late Chief Daniel Orbih was the instrument God used to pave the way for his emergence as Governor of Rivers in 2015.

 

Wike spoke in Abuja on Wednesday at a night of tributes in honour of Orbih, the National Vice-Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), South South.

 

Orbih, who hailed from Etsako in Edo State, died on Aug. 31 at the age of 64.

 

"Today I am a Minister of the FCT; yesterday I was a governor. Who did God use for me to become governor? It was Dan," Wike said.

 

The minister traced their close bond to 2013 and 2014, which he described as a turbulent period in which political opponents made desperate attempts to derail his governorship ambition.

 

According to Wike, Orbih, popularly called Dan, came under intense pressure and was offered huge inducements to withdraw his support, including from people sent by the then sitting Governor of Rivers. He said Orbih refused.

 

"There was nothing in this world that was not done to induce him. My governor then sent people to Dan, offered him everything in this world, but Dan stood firm and said, 'No, I will not accept, I will not agree,'" Wike said.

 

He said that, as the party's South South National Vice-Chairman, Orbih backed his campaign by donating two bulletproof Mercedes-Benz buses for his security and mobilising strong support across the region.

 

Wike praised what he described as Orbih's rare selflessness, saying the late politician never sought personal favours, patronage or government contracts during his eight years as governor.

 

"Dan is not a typical Nigerian politician. Throughout my eight years as governor, he never came for one day, either by phone or coming to my house to say, 'I need this contract.' Never," he said.

 

He said Orbih's loyalty and commitment ran in his family.

 

"The only way I can identify a politician that is reliable is when that politician has stood in times of crisis. Loyalty, commitment to friendship, and being a brother's keeper run in Dan's family," he said.

 

Wike said many current national and state lawmakers would not have attained their positions without Orbih's strength as National Vice-Chairman in protecting the interests of the South South.

 

He also said Orbih laid the foundation for cross-party collaboration in Edo and supported many politicians in the state without benefiting from it himself.

 

The minister said Orbih deserved a state burial in view of his contributions to political developments in Edo, and urged stakeholders in the state to act on it.

 

He pledged to maintain a strong relationship with the family of the deceased and to discuss how to preserve Orbih's legacy.

 

Sen. Magnus Abe, Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, said he was a politician today because Orbih introduced him to politics.

 

"I was the Director General of his first campaign in the United Nigeria Congress Party, when he ran for governor and I went everywhere in Edo with him," Abe said.

 

"Dan was indeed a bridge builder par excellence. We are gathered here today not because Dan is dead. We are gathered because of the life that he lived and that life impacted all of us in so many different ways."

 

Sen. Adams Oshiomhole, who represents Edo North in the Senate and is a former Governor of Edo, said Orbih's opposition made him a better governor.

 

"So my happiness today is that Dan and I, whatever our political differences we might have had, the truth is, Dan made me a better governor.

 

"So, when I'm making a decision, the first thing I'll ask is, 'If this goes out today, what is Dan Orbih going to say?'" he said.

 

Oshiomhole explained that he often held back from a decision until he was better prepared for how the opposition, led by Orbih, would present it to the people.

 

"That is why I say Dan helped me to be a better governor," he said.

 

He urged the family to "take consolation from the fact that your father-built bridges of unity, of progress, and he never did that at the expense of family and he was committed to the growth and development of his community."

 

Oshiomhole also thanked Wike for reconciling him with Orbih after a long political rift, saying, "It was right at Wike's residence in Port Harcourt that Dan and I started hugging."

 

The PDP presidential candidate, Sen. Sandy Onor, described Orbih as "a profound public intellectual, a quintessential lover of Edo people, a defender of Edo heritage, a Nigerian patriot and a social colossus."

 

"Dan was a great man by every measure, a true family man, a great husband, and a worthy father," Onor said.