Former Senator Magnus Abe has publicly declared his support for President Ahmed Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate in next year’s general election, Mr Kingsley Chinda and his political party.
Abe, who spoke at the leadership and stakeholders meeting of Ogoni indigenes at Bori at the weekend, noted that everybody has the right and freedom to associate, contest and support whosoever they want, but however warned that nobody has the right to run down anybody, irrespective of anything.
“In this politics, there are ways we have learnt that these things are done, we have learnt from experience, when you have experienced people in the family, if the first son has gone through something, the 2nd son goes through the same thing also the 3rd son, is that a wise family?, you must learn through the experience of your elders, if all of us go one way, we will get to nowhere. 
“Everybody is free to contest and support whoever they want to support, but I, as a person, I know who I am supporting. I am supporting Tinubu, I am supporting Chinda, I am also supporting APC my party; that is my right. Other people are free to do the same, but we are not free to run other people down,” he insisted
He called for unity, strategy, planning, and peaceful political engagement among Ogoni stakeholders and the people for a better future.
Speaking earlier, the chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NURC) also called on Ogoni leaders and Stakeholders to unite and harness the resources in the area to address the challenges of unemployment, poverty and hardship bedevilling the people.
He lauded the organisers of the meeting for bringing Ogoni people together, without waiting for any political bulldozer sort of or government authority.
He described the disagreement among Ogoni leaders as a strategy for failure.
“I want to tell us that progress, prosperity is not by accident; there is no society that you have gone to that has moved from point A to point B, and it just happened like that without planning, commitment, challenges, sacrifice, for people to move forward.
“Fighting, accusing yourselves, running yourselves down is a strategy for failure.
“Ogoni people need quality education, the kind of quality education that has made it possible for Senator Abe, whose father was a Pastor that was earning N94.00 a month, to stand before you today and stand before the whole of Nigeria.”
Speaking further, he noted that oil and gas deposits in Ogoniland are a major opportunity for economic development, and appealed to the youths and communities of Ogoni to stop fighting over oil and gas activities, pointing out that such division will only stall development in the area.
Proffering solutions to the challenges in the area, Abe said, “The solution to the numerous challenges of Ogon is to use what we have to develop what we want. What Ogoni is sitting on is oil and gas, and all of us have agreed that it is a God-sent opportunity to take Ogoniland out of poverty, but anytime we talk about oil and gas, youths begin to fight, communities begin to fight; if we keep fighting, how will we progress?
“My current position as the chairman of NURC is a unique opportunity for us to make best use of the time,” he noted.
