Prominent leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State have served the governing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) a quit notice, even as they declared the party’s intention to win all elective positions.
They also unanimously endorsed the candidacy of APC Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, insisting that power must return to the South in 2023.
T[b]he leaders included the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege; Minister of State for Labour and Employment and Campaign Spokesperson, Festus Keyamo SAN; APC chieftain and former General Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Chief Frank Kokori; Founding Leader and 2015 Governorship candidate of APC in Delta State, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor; State Chairman, Delta APC, Elder Omene Sobotie; State Vice Chairman, APC Delta Central, Chief Paulinus
Akpeki; former Commissioner for Education, Dr. Veronica Ogbuagu among others.[/b]
They spoke on Sunday at the meeting of Delta Central APC Leaders and Stakeholders in Effurun, Delta State.
They lamented that the state has been under bondage of underdevelopment since 1999, declaring that 2023 is a year of liberation.
In his remarks, Senator Omo-Agege who doubles as the governorship candidate of APC in the state, harped on the need for unity.
Omo-Agege said he was motivated by a desire to arrest receding hope among Deltans and build a state where the people’s future is brighter than their past.
He said fairness demands that power returns to the South in 2023 since President Muhammadu Buhari, a Northerner, is about completing eight years in office.
“We need to be united to be able to confront this monster. These are people who keep repeating the same thing and expect a different outcome.
“Having served as President for eight years, it is only fair that power returns to the South. It is for that reason that Delta Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has been labelled for who he is: a traitor.
“We are going to change the narrative in Delta. We are going to stand by Asiwaju Tinubu for President. Selling him won’t be a difficult task. We saw what he did in Lagos,” he said.
Also, convener of the meeting and Spokesperson, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo SAN, accused the PDP government of running a clueless and shortsighted administration.
Keyamo said the agenda of the PDP government in the state is to impoverish the people and make life difficult for them.
In his words: “The jacket of disunity is already in PDP. We will rescue the people from hunger, bondage and from Egypt. The battle will be door to door, unit to unit.
They are using primordial sentiments of Muslim–Muslim ticket to divert attention”.
Asiwaju Tinubu, he noted, will replicate his achievements as Lagos State Governor in the country if elected as president come February 2023.
“The example set by Asiwaju Tinubu in Lagos is enough to tell us that he will do more. So Ovie Omo-Agege has a huge task on his hand. He is going to first set a blueprint for development. Not chop-I-chop. Just like Asiwaju did, he set a blueprint and they are still enjoying till today,” he stated.
While elder statesman, Kokori expressed delight that the state is having a ‘real Urhoboman’ vying for the position, Olorogun Emerhor said: “This election is going to be at the unit and ward level. Only leaders can’t do it alone, the followers must help us. This unity meeting is a big step”.
The event was also graced by APC Senatorial candidate for Delta Central, Chief Edeh Dafinone, House of Representatives and State Assembly candidates for the party across the eight local government area of Delta Central and other stakeholders.
