The chairman, Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Delta State chapter, Chief Fred Obi, of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), has described the state governor, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa as an inexperienced governor, clannish, deadly and one that should not be relied on by right thinking minds.
The IPAC chairman stated this Wednesday at Nelrose Hotel while briefing the press on the outcome of the body’s election which was hijacked by the state governor at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters, Asaba, the state capital.
Chief Obi said following the clandestine move noticed by his team by some disgruntled elements and agents of government coupled with the non-accreditation of his supporters, they staged a walkout from the election perceived to have been infiltrated by the incumbent governor.
“Myself and my supporters, we suspected some foul play coming from the angle of the ruling government. We discovered in the course of the accreditation that there were agents of government within the arena of the election and some of my supporters that were supposed to be accredited were denied accreditation and when this issue was raised before those that were supposed to supervised the election, they pretended not to know what was going on”.
According to Obi, “I objected thrice, they refused to listen to me”, pointing out that the case of the All Progressives Congress (APC) delegate was a clear case, “the man that was supposed to represent APC was denied accreditation and the man representing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was duly accredited”, he bemoaned.
He said when the issues were raised, a letter of authority purportedly from the state chairman of APC, Prophet Jones Erue, was smuggled into the premises, “and I raised an objection, they still refused to listened to me and seeing that it has already been masterminded by the ruling party in the state, we have to walk out because it was already a planned work to short-change me and my team”.
He noted that an election which ordinarily ought not to attract the presence of some party chieftains turned to be a bandwagon for the likes of PDP state secretary and the publicity secretary, “for the purpose of working against me and against the already planned work of the members of the state IPAC Committee in Delta State. So we have to walk out”, he reiterated.
When asked if he was considering any action, he said, “yes. As it is now, I have about 16 political party chairmen that are backing and supporting me out of the 28 that were accredited that walked out with me and so with the information I am receiving that the election was conducted and the executives constituted, for me it is laughable. There was no election at that arena but rather the other 16 political party chairmen have unanimously resolved that I am the authentic state chairman of IPAC and that remains and there is no other existing state chairman of IPAC in Delta State”, describing any other person parading himself as the state chairman of IPAC in the state as a kangaroo chairman and a government agent.
He said Delta State is witnessing what he calls “political recession”, which according to him is not healthy to the political activities in the state, “the government and the governor of Delta State been a PDP man should immediately be called to order because his plans that led us boycotting that election was as a result of the fact that he was fingered in the activities”.
Obi quoted his opponent, the chairman of the People Democratic Movement (PDM), Chief Frank Igobike to have said that, “the governor of the state is behind me”, wondering why the governor of the state would get himself involved in an election that should ordinarily be an independent election.
He pointed out that the election that was perceived to have been held at the premises of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), “is none and void”.
He said he would work with the 16 political party that threw their weights behind him, revealing that he would pay visit to media houses, offices and agencies that are in alliance with them to intimate Nigerians especially Deltans of what is happening in the state, “that PDP has refused to jettison the idea of imposition of candidate/leaders on the people. Delta is under siege, Delta is been ruled by some political caucus that if not properly checked, we are heading to what is called political doom and this must be addressed immediately otherwise, there will be anarchy in the state”.
He accused INEC of complicity, “the process was duly compromised by the government of the day who was fingered in the process. My opponent boasted that the governor of the state is behind him. Unless it is addressed urgently and quickly, the state is heading towards doom”, he predicted.
He vowed never to recognize the imposed candidate as the chairman of IPAC in the state, stressing that the national body would be duly notified of his stance even as he called on political parties in the state to come together and work a one united family so that the IPAC family would move forward in the state.
He further described the Okowa-led government as “worrisome, disturbing and embarrassing. You all know that the governor is from Ika North East, the chairman of the Delta State Traditional Rulers Council is from Ika North East and the governor is also coming again to impose another man again from Ika North East as the state IPAC chairman, it is very disturbing and it is not good for our political settings here in Delta State and there is need to address it urgently because he came on the platform of equity and now he has jettison that platform of equity to impose some one on IPAC. Of course, I am not surprised because PDP is known for imposition”.
The 16 political parties who aligned with him includes: APC, PDC, KOWA, PPA, DPP, UPN, YDP, MPPP, SDP, PPN, ACD, FRESH, PPP, BNPP, HOPE and CPP while those elected to run the affairs of the body alongside with Mr. Fred Obi of PPA are: the Deputy Chairman, Oghenegbagbegbe Bob- DPP; Secretary, Prince Sunny Ejunedia, HOPE Party.
Others are: the Assistant Secretary; Mrs. Anna Odibo, ACD; Publicity Secretary, Dr. Charles Mejebi, UPN; Mrs. Mohammed Oluremi, PDC as the financial secretary; Mercy Monisa, BNPP as treasurer while Prince Jude H.E. Eze, KOWA as the D.G.
