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Edo 2016: Okowa Abandons Delta State For Edo Election

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The adage that ‘politicians can go off guard to get what they want’ is playing out again from the Delta State governor, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, who has virtually left his state to pursue the forthcoming governorship election in Edo State.

Despite the dwindling federal allocation to Delta State, it was gathered that Okowa, has assured the South-south governors under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that he would finance the governorship election in Adams Oshiomhole state to ensure that the PDP governorship flag bearer, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu emerges as Edo State governor.

This move, it was learnt has made the Delta State governor to embark on the recruitment of thugs in the neighbouring Edo villages sharing boundaries with Delta to collect Permanent Voters Card (PVC) for possible rigging.

Oshiomhele had told Okowa that he (Oshiomhole) would defeat him (Okowa) in Delta if he contest election with him after the South-south governors who met in Asaba over insecurity caused by Fulani Herdsmen and planned strategies on how to take over power from the incumbent governor of Edo State.

In his respond, Okowa said, “I wish he will have the opportunity to contest with me but that opportunity will not come because he cannot become a Deltan today neither am I going to come from Edo State and I will not be in Edo State to compete with him neither can he also compete in Delta. I believe too that he is already doing his second tenure, constitutionally he will not even have the opportunity to run to Delta State to contest. The remains my brother, I don’t know what led him to make that comment but as far as I know there was no reason at first for that statement that was made”.

Confirming Okowa’s clandestine move, the Edo state government, in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Kassim Afegbua claimed that, “it has come to our knowledge that following the commencement of the Continuous Voters Registration exercise in Edo state preparatory to the September 10 gubernatorial election in the state, the Peoples’ Democratic Party in connivance with the Delta state Government, has started recruiting thugs and hooligans from Delta State to register as voters in communities sharing border with Edo state.

“We had earlier taken the information with levity when we received it a few days ago, but we now have it on good authority that indeed the PDP Governor of Delta state, His Excellency, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa is involved in this sinister move to send political thugs to the fringe villages between the two states to fraudulently register as eligible voters with the intention to use them to cause untold mayhem before and during the elections, on September 10th.

“According to information at our disposal, forty political thugs have been dispatched to each of these border villages with the sole aim of registering them as voters before engaging their services to perpetrate violence during the September 10 election. We wish to place the security agencies on notice of this untoward intention of the Delta State Government with their Edo PDP collaborators to cause a breach of security in Edo state.

“The fact that our people are generally known to be peace-loving should not be misconstrued as a sign of weakness, it is just to make the point that we believe wholesomely that democracy is a game of contestation of ideas and not one of contestation with guns and bullets.

“We have put our people on notice to keep an eagle eye on their environment and resist any infiltration or attempt to undermine the peace and security of the state,” the statement read.

At press time, concerted efforts to get the Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Patrick Ukah and the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Okowa proved abortive.

It would be recall that Okowa could not defeat his opponents, Olorogun O’tege Emerhor of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru of Labour Party (LP) through the polls, got his alleged mandate via the court.

 

Operation Delta Safe, Replaces Pulo Shield In Niger Delta

After several failed efforts by the Nigerian Army to conquer he Niger Delta Avengers, the Defence Headquarters has scrapped the Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Pulo Shield (OPS) in the Niger Delta region and replaced it with Operation Delta Safe (ODS).

According to a statement signed by the acting Director, Defence Information, Brig-Gen. Rabe Abubakar, the Defence Headquarters decided to reform, refocus and rename the outfit due to the renewed militancy and economic terrorism in the region by various militant groups led by the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA).

“The OPERATION PULO SHIELD in Niger Delta has been scrapped with immediate effect and replaced with OPERATION DELTA SAFE,” the statement read.

“This is in line with the Defence Headquarters initiative to restructure the Joint Task Force for better service delivery, efficiency and effectiveness in line with the vision and mission of the Chief of Defence Staff to contain the current security challenges in the Niger Delta especially protection of critical national assets and provision of security in the area.

“Under this arrangement, the Joint Operational Areas of the new outfit have been delineated into 3 sectors and 5 Operational Bases covering the entire Niger Delta, Ondo and Akwa Ibom States. The Headquarters of OPERATION DELTA SAFE would be in Yenagoa.

“This development, according to Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin becomes expedient in order to inject new tactics and robust operational initiative to tackle the emerging security challenges in the Niger Delta region such as piracy, bunkering, vandalism and other criminalities prevalent in the area.”

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