Okafor Ofiebor /Port Harcourt

A former federal lawmaker who represented the Asari-Toru/Akuku-Toru Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Dr. Dawari Ibietela George, has joined the governorship race in Rivers State.

George who was a former Commissioner of Petroleum and Natural Resources under former Governor Rotimi Amaechi will be joining billionaire-businessman, Tonye Dele Cole, Dumo Lulu-Briggs and Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, from the Ogoniland to seek the ticket of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for the 2019 gubernatorial election in Rivers State.

Dr.  George, who served in the 7th National Assembly, has returned the completed Intent and Nomination Forms to the National Secretariat of APC in Abuja on Wednesday.

Attempts made to speak with Dr. George over the development were unsuccessful as calls placed on his telephone number failed to connect.

Also, George had yet to respond to SMS, sent to him and another sent to his WhatsApp contact, as of the time of this report.

But a source well connected to the former lawmaker  who should know confirmed it.

Interestingly, Dr Dawari George was one of the APC chieftains who on Monday September 10 accompanied Tonye Cole to visit some royal fathers in their palaces to get royal blessings ahead of the APC party primaries in the state.

Dr Dawari George is now the third Kalabari sons regarded as ‘Ijaw riverine’ angling for APC gubernatoral ticket.

The others are Tonye Dele Cole and Dumo-Lulu Briggs.

Born on 1st July, 1970, George served as member in the House Committees on Civil Society And Donor Agencies, Constituency Outreach, Emergency & Disaster Preparedness, Ethics & Privileges, Governmental Affairs, and Water Resources.

 Dawari George is a member of the Amaechi camp of the Rivers APC which insists that the the Governorship slot should rotate between the two Riverine and Upland dichotomy in state.

 Dr. George who was Chairman of the Rivers State chapter of the National Youth Council came out with the best result in secondary school at Government Comprehensive Secondary School, Borokiri, Port Harcourt.

He is a graduate of Political Science, though his first love is Law.

I believe that God never wanted me to be a lawyer”, he told a journalist in 2011. While in Class Three in secondary school, something was in his spirit that he would have a PhD in Political Science.

He holds Masters Degree in Political Science, specialising in Political Economy, which is called Development Studies and also has the PhD in PoliticalScience, also in Political Economy/Development Studies, all from the University of Port Harcourt.

“In the youth council, I had my first baptism of fire in public service. There, you had the good, the bad and the ugly. I went through hell in the hands of the youths. Your ability to be able to bring the different tendencies together;  be able to control them and channel their energies, whether positive or negative, towards achieving the purpose of the youth organisation, you will know that, that will be the greatest challenge. I am not sure that there will be any changes  I will face in life that will be more than being the chairman of the youth council. The experiences have been able to shape me”, Dr. George said in 2011.

For 6 years (August 2012 – August 2018), Dawari served as National President, Baptist Men’s Fellowship and handed over on August 20, 2018.