It appears that the lawmakers representing Bonny constituency in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Abinye Blessing Pepple, and Degema/Bonny federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Randolph Brown, were currently enmeshed in a battle to return to their respective legislative seats post-2019.

The two lawmakers are members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.  

Both lawmakers were said to stand the risk of not returning as they were faced with both opposition against their ambition within their party and moves by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the area to substitute them with their own men.

Kristina Reports learnt that there were already deft moves by opponents within the PDP fold in the LGA to truncate their return to their respective positions in state House of Assembly and the House of Representatives.

Though both have given a good account of themselves in terms of creditably discharging their legislative functions, sources reveal that their refusal to play along with certain elements in their party, the PDP in the LGA, have racked up angst against them.

For instance, Brown has been part of multipronged pressure by the National Assembly and other stakeholders on the federal government that got the Bodo-Bonny road project off the ground.

He further pushed for the inclusion of the project into the federal government’s Road Trust Fund (RTF) to enable the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited provide the balance funding of N52.7 billion to make up the N120 billion needed for the project.  

The NLNG had previously provided N60 billion to fund the project while the federal government brought N7.5 billion, totaling N67.5 billion. This move saw to the signing of necessary documentation for the flag off of the project by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo in Bonny Island in December 2017.

Further to that, he also pressured the National Assembly leadership to intervene in getting the security agencies to escalate their efforts at checkmating the activities of sea pirates on the Bonny River which had drastically affected economic activities in that corridor.

Currently there were various empowerment programmes been executed via his constituency office which had benefitted several people especially women and youths across the constituency.

These include skills acquisition programmes, offsetting of tuition and other fees for undergraduates from his constituency, purchase of WASSCE, UTME, and post UTME forms for his constituents, amongst others.

Unconfirmed reports have it that his disenchantment with the alleged failure of the party to recognize him as leader of the PDP in Bonny LGA given his position as the most senior elected political officeholder was allegedly his albatross.

This was reportedly viewed as an affront to the current leader of the party and state commissioner for local government, Rodaford LongJohn, who was said to be leveraging his closeness to his former contemporary and incumbent state governor, Nyesom Wike to his advantage. 

He was also been accused of discouraging his supporters from participating actively in the party’s activities in the LGA.

These were some of the reasons why his candidates for the just concluded local government elections, Aboma Pepple, Rogers Banigo and Blessing Ezekiel-Hart were reportedly denied any chances, including not been considered as running mates by way of settlement.

On his part, Pepple, who was on the verge of having his 2017 constituency project, the Bonny Fire Station, commissioned, was said to be having a running battle of his life as some stakeholders within the party hierarchy were bent on denying him a comeback to the assembly.

Aside the fire station project, Pepple saw to the purchase of WASSCE, UTME, and post UTME forms for his constituents. He has also sponsored several skills acquisition programmes for members of his constituency, one of which was conducted by maritime services giant, Charkins Marine based in Port Harcourt.

Added to these he has sponsored several bills on the floor of the assembly and is currently the chairman of the assembly committee on power.

He was at the moment working assiduously with members of his committee to hold a summit where issues affecting the power sector in the state were expected to be deliberated on in order to chart a way forward for the sector.

Recently, engagement processes for the recruitment of staff of the fire station commenced with an aptitude test for applicants held in Bonny last weekend.  

A source close to the party hierarchy in the LGA disclosed to Kristina Reports that there were allegations that he was outsmarting other stakeholders in deciding who got what from the local government.

Some of these include the appointment of one of the caretaker committee chairmen, nomination of the contractor for the construction of the fire station, attempt to outwit the party leader in the choice of who emerged the candidate of the party in the just concluded local government polls in the state.

Contacted to react to this the commissioner for local government declined any comments, insisting that if there were any issues at all they were internal and internal conflict resolution mechanisms would be used to resolve them.

Reacting to the development, Pepple dismissed the allegations, saying that mischief makers were on the prowl. He asserted that he enjoys a cordial relationship with his party leader in the LGA and had never attempted to undermine his leadership.

Furthermore, he maintained that there were no misgivings within the PDP family in the LGA as the choice of him and Brown were the collective decision of the party in the area and the overwhelming mandate given to them by their constituents in a keenly contested election in 2015 and reruns in 2016.

On his part, an aide to the House of Representatives member, Randolph Brown, who pleaded anonymity, debunked the allegations against his boss.

He stated that there were no issues between his boss and the party leader in the area as his boss was neither interested in the position nor encouraging his supporters to disrespect him.

He condemned the attempt by miscreants and unscrupulous politicians to cause disaffection between his boss and Longjohn. He added that his boss was more focused on discharging the mandate given him by the people of Degema and Bonny LGAs.

Meanwhile, there were ongoing moves by the opposition APC in the area to substitute the duo of Pepple and Brown in the forthcoming 2019 polls with their own men.

So far, a former director of finance in Government House, Port Harcourt, Fubara Hart and another APC stalwart from Degema have indicated interest to contest against Brown for the House of Representatives seat.

Also, about three APC chieftains, two men and a lady, have declared their quest for the House of Assembly seat.

This has put some pressure on the Brown and Pepple camps and the PDP as there were also two individuals within the party who were already making moves to vie against Pepple at the primary.

These developments have somewhat altered the permutations ahead of the 2019 general elections in the area.

Both men now face a daunting and dual challenge of emerging as their party’s candidates and also winning whoever emerges as the APC candidates for the two positions if they were to ensure their return to Moscow Road and Three Arms Zone, respectively.