Okowa’s Medicine After Death: APC Leaders Reject Councillorship Slot ‘Awarded’ Them In Concluded Council Election

Delta state main opposition party, All Progressive Congress (APC) has rejected the alleged offer of chairmanship and Councillorship position to them in the just concluded local governor election in the state.

The party leaders in a joint statement had alleged that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa had directed the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC) to award Councillorship positions to some APC candidate in Ughelli North and Ethiope East council Area.

BigPen Online recalls that DSIEC had earlier announced APC councillorship candidate as winner in the ward of Minister of state Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu in Onicha-Ugbo in the election which APC had described as sham and political jamboree of the PDP.

It was learnt that following the wide rejection of the polls and castigation of Okowa for his inability to conduct smooth election for first time, the governor had allegedly reached out to some APC chieftains who are sympathetic to PDP to brokered the deal that in the rerun election, the party should be ‘awarded’ some slot.

But APC in a statement signed by its chairman, Jones Ode Erhue and another joint press release by Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege, the Senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly, and Chief Great Ogboru, the Labour Party governorship candidate in 2015 election, disassociated themselves and the party from any purported victory by ‘awarded’ some APC Councillorship candidates in the election.

The APC state Chairman reiterated that the party would not be part of the ‘fake election’ in 25 LGAs of Delta State, and also the purported announcement of the award of three ward victories to APC in Evwreni Ward 8 and Orogun Ward 5, both in Ughelli-North LGA and Abraka Ward 1 In Ethiope-East LGA.

“Following the announcement by Delta State independent Electoral Commission, DSIEC, of the results of the last two Local Government Areas, thereby completing the charade of its fake elections in the , APC Delta is compelled once more to issue the following statements:

“We reiterate our stand that the elections in all 25 LGAs of Delta State were a sham and that no valid elections took place;

“We renew our demand that the results should be cancelled and fresh elections that will be free, fair and credible conducted;

“We reject any purported victories awarded to APC in three wards of Evwreni, Orogun and Abraka. We also reject a ward victory earlier announced for APC in Onicha-Ugbo;

“The party hereby directs all affected Councillors not to present themselves for swearing-in, and where they have been sworn in, to immediately resign the positions.

“The party reinstates that it will not be conned by DSIEC/PDP into validating the fake LGA elections by accepting its Greek gifts!, the statement added.

In the same vein, Omo-Agege and Ogboru 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.

They accused 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.

The statement released by the duo read in part: “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 concluded.

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