Labour Party Candidate representing Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency, Ibigoni Dienye Pepple in the forthcoming general elections says Labour Party is currently the only biggest Political Party in Nigeria.
Pepple who disclosed this in an interview with journalist in Port Harcourt, insisted that there is no Party that has the large number of people other than Labour Party, just as he said the Party can now boldly have representation in every polling unit across the state.
He emphasized that the people coming out in mass to support the Party are not just doing it to vote for Peter Obi, but they are coming to constitute a structure of the Labour Party for Peter Obi and other Labour candidates.
“I think right now Labour Party is the biggest in the nation, I say this without any fear of contradiction because Labour Party today is made up of people many of whom have never voted, many of whom have registered but never voted.
“They are not just wanting to participate in the election they see themselves as the structure of the Party, a lot of people are coming out because of Peter Obi, I don’t think there is any other Party that this large number making up the structure. The question is; what is Party structure in the first place? What makes a party strong is the structure, but what is the structure is the number of people holding offices in the Party.
“PDP can claim they have representation in every polling unit, today I can tell you for every person PDP or APC have in a polling unit Labour Party have seven (7) to ten (10) persons willing to stand for the Party. So I have good reason to think that Labour Party is the biggest Party in Nigeria today.
“If that be the case the chances of us winning Is a lot higher. For example if you look at 2019 election Wike won that election with about eight hundred thousand and something votes, the number of persons that came out in Port Harcourt on Saturday 27 August, 2022, for Peter Obi match was far more than the number that voted in 2019 Governorship election in the state.
“If that number vote in Rivers State then we already have the state without any fear of contradiction and many did not come because of the rain, it rained all through the duration of the Peter Obi match I have every reason to think Labour Party is very strong.”
Pepple further blamed poor sensitization as the cause of low PVC collection, while urging the electorate to go pickup their permanent voters card, noting that the new electoral Act ensures their vote counts.
“I had the opportunity to meet with one of the electoral officers in my constituency Degema/Bonny, and I was shocked to know that over three thousand (3000) PVCs are not yet collected that was a shock to me because these are PVCs of people that registered before 2022, which means the new people registering when it is ready it also add to these ones
that are not yet collected.
“For me it is a burning issue, I would like to advise those that have registered to go now and collect their PVC. Why am insisting on the now, is as the day goes by new PVCs would be ready. Lots of people are thinking they have time after all election is next year.
“As more PVCs add to the lots collection will become more difficult, searching and locating become more difficult, and the number of people wanting to collect at the same time become more difficult so you will start having queues and crowd in front of INEC offices.
“To avoid those crowd and queues in INEC offices towards the last days before election people should go now and collect their PVCs, it is very important and am appealing particularly to the people in Bonny Degema constituency. There is this feeling that votes will count because the approach towards election is far better now, apartheid is not there.”
The Federal Constituency candidate, however, said that Nigeria needs a government for the masses with human security architecture which is what Labour Party stands for, adding that Nigeria does not need a change, but a complete dismantling of the existing equilibrium set to be retrogressive and at such against development.
