OKOWA SPEAKS ON ATTEMPT TO PITCH HIM AGAINST IBORI, UDUAGHAN

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa on Thursday said he will not be distracted by attempts by some highly placed members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state to pitch him against his predecessors.

Speaking while receiving hundreds of members of opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency, who defected to the Peoples Democratic People (PDP), Okowa said all Governors who ruled the state since 1999 performed very well.

He said attempts by some persons in the state to put him on a collision course with past leaders of the state would not work as he was focused on developing Delta according to the mandate freely given to him by the people.

The Governor remarked that PDP as a political party believed that power belonged to God and that the people reserved the right to make their choice.

Okowa said he was elected to do what was right for the interest of the people and not to put money in somebody’s pocket.

He added that PDP had worked very well in the state, “beginning from Chief James Ibori’s tenure to Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan and myself; we have worked very well and we are still working.

“If anyone says he is not seeing what we are doing, it’s either that person is blind or doesn’t live in Asaba.

“The attempt to pitch me against my predecessors will not work because I am not quarrelling with them. My predecessors laid the foundation of what we are doing in the state and I am building on the foundations they have laid.

“I am building on the foundation that I met. Some people are angry and want to cause quarrel between me and my predecessors but they have failed because no stranger will deceive us in this state”.

He commended the people for their support over the years, adding that the coming of the defectors from APC would further strengthen the PDP in the state.

“I congratulate all of you returning home today; by the grace of God, the people will be happy with us by the time we will be handing over in 2023,” he stated.

Receiving the defectors, Chairman of PDP in the state, Chief Kingsley Esiso, described APC as a failed party.

“Under their leadership of this nation, bandits have taken over, prices of food have skyrocketed, farmers can’t go to farm and children can’t go to school because of insecurity.

“They are dreaming and can’t see Delta. They can plan, they can gather, but they will scatter because God is with us.

“The party under my leadership will not tolerate any irritant. We will chase them till they meet their end politically.

“As a party, we make decisions in the best interest of the party and I want to reiterate that Senator Peter Nwaoboshi stands suspended and he must decide where he belongs; he has one month to do so or we will be forced to do the needful,” Esiso stated.

Earlier, Chairman of APC in Delta North, Major George Okafor (retd), who led the defectors, said they were back to PDP where they belonged.

“Our decision to quit the APC was largely borne out of the inner conviction that APC in Delta had remained an unending battlefield without hope for respite.

“In Delta APC things will continue to fall apart; I do not see them coming together even beyond 2023.

“Today, I feel good coming back home to where I am loved, respected and appreciated. I thank the PDP family in Delta State for holding forth and firm since 1999.

“I want to specially thank Governor Okowa for keeping the party together, both in the state and at the national level,” Okafor said.

The State Deputy Governor, Deacon Kingsley Otuaro; Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu; Speaker, Delta House of Assembly, Hon Sheriff Oborewvori and other top government and party officials joined the Governor to receive the defectors.