Ogboru, Omo-Agege rejects Councillorship slots donated to APC by DSIEC

By Shedrack Onitsha,

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… Berates APC chieftains for allegedly brokering a deal with Okowa

 

 

The leader of the opposition in Delta State, Olorogun Great Ogboru and Senator Ovie Omo-Agege have rejected councilorship slots allegedly donated to their Wards by the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC) in the rerun council elections it conducted for Ughelli North and Ethiope East LGAs.

Ogboru, the Labour Party governorship candidate in 2015 election and a chieftain of the APC and Sen. Omo-Agege, the Senator representing Delta central senatorial district at the National Assembly, disassociated themselves from any purported victory by some APC Councillorship candidates in the election.

The two APC leaders in a joint statement said that DSIEC failed to conduct free, fair and credible elections in Delta’s 25 LGAs on January 6th, and therefore would not want to be identified with the outcome of the sham election.

The accuse the electoral umpire of  engaging in a brazen demonstration of corruption, by giving all Original Results Sheets and other sensitive electoral materials to the PDP in Delta State, instead of it being distributed to voting centres.

According to their statement which read in parts; “There was no voting or credible election in virtually all the LGAs. Nevertheless, by the next day, DSIEC wrote and announced fake election results in favour of PDP in 23 LGAs and rescheduled elections for 2 LGAs – Ughelli North and Ethiope East.

“It is public knowledge that in a strong rebuke of DSIEC’s primitive declaration of fake results in favour of the Delta PDP, the Delta APC rightly boycotted the rescheduled elections in Ughelli North and Ethiope East LGAs. Among other reasons, we endorsed the boycott because there was no reason to believe that the rescheduled elections would be different.

“Having boycotted the rescheduled polls, it is therefore surprising that DSIEC somehow purportedly declared some APC Councillorship candidates as winners in the rescheduled elections in some Wards in Ughelli North and Ethiope East LGAs. These results are as invalid as they are fraudulent and fictitious. They are products of senseless rigging and do not reflect the will of the relevant electorates in Ughelli North and Ethiope East.

The duo also disassociated themselves from any alleged undercut arrangement by some party leaders with the state governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa to be allotted some chairmanship and councillorship slots for themselves in order to legitimise the charade called election.

“Let it be on record that we are not part of any subterranean attempt to give false legitimacy to the sham elections. It is alleged that some APC friends of Senator Ifeanyi Okowa went to negotiate in the dark for some chairmanship and councillorship slots for themselves. It true at all, we condemn it in the extreme. If that is what gave Okowa the belief that the easiest way to legitimise the flawed elections is to donate undeserved electoral victories to select APC leaders, including us who are from Ughelli North and Ethiope East LGA (where elections where rescheduled), then he must have a rethink. We are not interested in such an embarrassing Greek gift – intended to cause confusion in the ranks of the Delta APC?

“The reality of today is that the new Delta APC will defeat PDP in at least 18 LGAs of the 25 LGAs in Delta in credible elections. Okowa surely knows he cannot win a credible election in any ward in the political epicenter of Delta State – Central Senatorial District. Therefore, it is an insult for him to pretend to own and donate electoral victories. The corrupt conducts of DSIEC cannot confer electoral strengths on Okowa and the PDP. They are too unpopular.

“Okowa may have chosen to unconstitutionally select and appoint people to run our LGAs in the guise of elections. He should however refrain from labouring to characterise the fraud as credible elections using bizarre donations of electoral victories. We denounce the results written and announced by DSIEC in all 25 LGAs to suit the dictates of Okowa and the PDP for being anti-democratic.

“We encourage all Deltan progressives to remain steadfast. Your boldness on January 6 sent a clear message about our collective strengths and resolve for positive change in our State. Because of what you did, PDP ran underground to write fake results for the elections. They could not do it openly. That itself is the beginning of our victory. If the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were to conduct the same elections, Okowa’s PDP would be nowhere. That is why DSIEC did not allow the elections. But that will not happen in 2019 when we shall put to final rest the impunity of PDP in Delta. The statement added.