Mary Ekah
Reverend Asoliye Douglas-West, a governorship aspirant in Rivers State, has suspended his ambition to contest in next year’s election.
The cleric made this known in an interactive session with journalists in Lagos yesterday.
The cleric said: “ I remain committed to the mission of changing the narrative and inventing a new future for Rivers State using the alternative platform offered by his pastoral engagement.”
He recalled that some months ago, he presented himself as a potential candidate vying for the governorship position in the state in the forthcoming general elections in 2023.
“I have been particularly humbled and persuaded by the feedback I got from a series of consultations and dialogue after signposting that initiative. I was deeply affected by all who genuinely expressed confidence and identified with me in pursuit of this noble cause and those who further went the extra mile to demonstrate a huge extent of solidarity out of their own volition pledging commitment and willingness to make sacrifices by considering me worthy for potential acceptance,” he said.
However, Douglas-West expressed his commitment to remain fully focused on and committed to the mission of supporting concrete efforts directed at sensitising and galvanising people of Ijaw-speaking descent in the eight local government areas of Rivers State on the urgency to reconstruct Rivers politics and politicking to capture power as a viable tool for fostering development in the coastal area.
“I must confess that I have deeply honoured and grateful to God Almighty for the inspiration and audacity against all odds and all the offering of counsel, goodwill, kindheartedness and criticisms from the rainbow collectively of people of like-minds and well-meaning Rivers and non-Rivers indigene but the opacity, intrigues, unrighteousness and indescribable complexities associated within governance a mirage.
“By no means, was I unaware of, nor take into cognisance of the cache of mines buried in the political landscape.”
