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Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has vowed to remain grateful to Justice Mary Odili for her timely intervention that saved his political career in 2004.
Wike made the vow at the 70th birthday and retirement thanksgiving mass for Justice Mary Odili at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Chaplaincy, Catholic Institute of West Africa, (CIWA) in Port Harcourt, on Sunday.
The governor recalled how he cried to Justice Mary Odili when he got hint that his name was not included among those cleared to contest either as first term or second term chairmen of local councils in the state
According to Wike, Justice Mary Odili listened to him, and took the complain to her husband, Dr Peter Odili, who was the governor of Rivers then.
Wike’s comments was contained in a press statement issued in Port Harcourt at the weekend by the his Special Assistant on Media, Kevin Ebiri.
Wike explained that the manner Justice Mary Odili presented the matter got her husband acting on it immediately.
He said first, Dr Peter Odili invited the then Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party chairman, Uche Secondus, to confirm the observation and thereafter put a call across to the then national secretary of the PDP, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor.
“In 2004, that time the husband was the governor, so she was going to Bori Camp for women empowerment scheme. I was to run for second tenure as chairman of my local government (Obio-Akpor).”
“Now, they were having lunch with her husband and the former State party chairman then, Prince Uche Secondus. And, I was told that my name had been removed on the list. So, I ran down to Government House.
“She had finished her own lunch, left her husband and was entering the vehicle. I said mummy I’m finished. She asked what happened, I said they’ve removed my name.
“She ran back straight to her husband and informed him. Her husband asked who removed his name. At that time, Secondus had left. The husband then called the security at the gate, they stopped Secondus and ask him to come back.
“That was how I went back as second term chairman. For me, I can’t talk about my growth without mentioning her. If she was not around that day, to see the governor, you know is not an easy thing. Her being around that particular day saved my career in politics. And so that was how I grew from there to become what I am today.”
Wike noted a vital lesson of life he learnt from Justice Odili, which is the determination to build the capacity to be successful in one’s career while not ignoring giving requisite attention to the family.
For Justice Mary Odili, governor Wike stated that there was a good balance she maintained that made her a succeed both in her career as a legal practitioner, a mother and wife in the family.
Wike said Justice Mary Odili had remained an embodiment of care and compassion because without relenting she treated everybody with dignity that they deserved.
“I have seen somebody who is very compassionate, and very caring. The moment you’re around her husband, she takes care of you. She sees you as her husband’s person and so she will always relate with you. Some of us are direct beneficiaries of the care through our relationship with the husband,” he said.
In his homely, the chaplain of the Chaplaincy at CIWA, Very Rev. Monsignor Pius Kii, exhorted on the physical and eternal benefits Christians derive when they love God, one another and their enemies.
