Chief Ambassador Patrick Dele Cole, father of APC flagbearer in the 2019 governorship contest in Rivers State was in PH from his base in London last weekend.
In an exclusive chat with the journalists in PH, the well known politician, diplomat, administrator and writer said he was in PH to see things for himself and to thank all those who had been associating with the governorship project of Tonye Cole, especially, former governor of Rivers State and transportation minister, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, CON, who stuck out his neck to facilitate the emergence of a Kalabari governor, based on riverine/upland dichotomy, the Chidi Lloyd-led Tonye Cole Campaign Organisation(TCCO) who had lived up to their bidding and the generality of APC faithful in the state who had sworn to deliver Tonye Cole in next year’s election.
He expressed confidence in Tonye Cole’ s capacity and ability to perform, given his upbringing, training and exposure.
The former presidential aspirant under the Social Democratic Party(SDP) about 20 years ago and former Special Adviser on Foreign Relations during the administration of President Obasanjo hoped that the emergence of Tonye Cole as governor of Rivers State could witness the resuscitation of moribund industries and companies at the Trans-Amadi industrial axis of PH, with the attendant job opportunities this would generate for our teeming unemployed youths and return PH to its pride of place as an industrial hub of Nigeria.
He commended the ward to ward familiarisation/sensitization visits of Tonye Cole, describing it as unique and a winning strategy and extolled those who formulated the idea. He also said the visits must have afforded the APC governorship candidate the opportunity to know the circumstances of the different communities which would enable him to solve their problems when voted into power.
A well-known Kalabari chief of Abonnema extraction who took a personal chieftaincy title as Chief(Dr) Patrick Dele Cole-Jack in 1977, expressed disappointment at those who initially saw Tonye Cole as a non- Kalabariman, describing such actions as unfortunate.
In his remark, Chief Cole promised to meet with wider sections of Rivers people both in his hometown Abonnema and also in Port Harcourt, the days ahead and assured that Tonye Cole was a man Rivers people could trust with the office of governor of the state, come 2019.
