APC Crisis Deepens In Delta Over Omo-Agege/Ogboru Attempt To Frustrate Direct Primaries

…it is a blackmail – Omo-Agege

The factional crisis rocking the All Progressive Congress, APC, Delta State have taken a new dimension as a pro-Omo-Agege and Great Ogboru group has allegedly rejected the proposed direct primaries in the state.

The group under the auspices of “APC Electoral Watch Group in Delta state,” were said to have raised some ‘spurious’ allegations against the conduct of the direct primaries in the state.

They alleged that the direct primaries directed by the NEC, will lead to a breakdown of law and order in the state.

The Ogboru /Agege faction had allegedly engaged a fictitious association, “APC Electoral Watch Group in Delta state,” to petition the Inspector General of Police, alleging that direct primary will lead to commotion and bloodbath in Delta State.

They also alleged that the parallel APC faction and Executives led by Olorogun O’tega Emerhor/Chief Cyril Ogodo are moles in Delta APC who are currently collaborating with the PDP state government and are planning to disrupt any planned direct primaries in other to ensure Chief Great Ogboru do not emerge the APC governorship candidate and/or that Delta APC do not produce any governorship candidate to challenge Governor Okowa.

The petitions to the Inspector General of Police, IGP and AIG zone 5 Benin dated August 14th, August 20th and 21st 2018 were signed by their counsel, Barr Itse Elijah Wilkie, of the Wilkie Law Firm.

In one of the petition obtained by BigPen Online entitled: “State Sponsored Thuggery, Harassment, Brutalization, and Threats of Assassination of Opponents of Delta State Government,” they further alleged that part of the, “plot is to instigate commotion in any public event where any of their targets is and exploit the confusion in killing their target.”

Also, in another of the petition dated August 20^th, 2018 to the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 5 Benin, they appeal to the AIG, to write a Security report to, “the appropriate quarters including, The Presidency, The National Chairman, APC, Abuja and The Directorate of State Security to the effect that: Direct Primaries will be very Bloody if the Congresses in Delta led to several persons being killed.”

“There are already reports of mass acquisition of firearm by politicians and thugs to be used and deployed for the evil plot; Ubeji town in Warri South local government is a warehouse of arms for one senatorial aspirant under the platform of PDP. In Uvwie, the Effurun garage is the warehouse of arms of PDP for the upcoming elections.

Citing the case of attack on Senator Omo-Agege while consulting his constituent at Effurun market, they urged the IGP, to overhaul the police leadership in the state.

They also called on the IGP to provide special police interventionist units to supervise the party primaries and the general election and also “provide security escort drawn from force headquarters for Chief Great Ogboru.”

“Recall that Senator Ovie Omo-Agege on July 20th, 2018, supervised the conduct of Direct Primary for the Osun State APC governorship race, where he stated when declaring the result at the party’s secretariat in Osogbo and was quoted to have said; “Direct Primary adopted provided a level playing field for all aspirants. Political analysts are shocked that the same Senator is now in the forefront of scuttling direct primaries in Delta State.

But a chieftain of the party who reacted to the allegations under condition of anonymity, said: “Omo-Agege and Ogboru are afraid that should direct primaries be adopted, their chances at the primary is very slim, unlike when delegate is used which they would handpicked, since they assume then now hold the recognized structure in state.

“What they are doing is not too different from what a number of APC state governors who are afraid of direct primary are doing: fighting Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and national Chairman Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

“The difference in this Ogboru/Omo-Agege fight is too ingeniously and dubiously hide under security threat to hoodwink Oshiomhole to approve that indirect primaries be adopted for Delta state.

“They are determined to, through these petitions blackmail the party’s National Chairman and security agencies into accepting that there are special and unique security threats in Delta state and by so doing, the party will be force to do their bidding by conducting delegate (indirect) primaries which they believe is the only way they can become the governorship and senatorial candidates of APC in Delta state in the 2019 elections.

Meanwhile, Omo-Agege has denied the allegations contained in the petition, saying it was the hand work of mischief makers and blackmailers.

In a statement issued in reaction to the allegations signed by Hon Billy Egbe on behalf of Omo-Agege media department, said that the petition was targeted to pitch the trio against the national chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and the NWC of the party.

The statement read, “all persons of decent behavior know that the trio of Chief Ogboru, Senator Omo-Agege and Prophet Jones are very responsible leaders who would never go against any constitutional or lawful decision duly taken by our party or any organized body to which they belong.

“We affirm the truth that Ogboru, Omo-Agege and Erue are loyal and committed to the current right leadership of our great party under the Comrade National Chairman and bound by its decision.

“Any contrary position is false. It is to say the least sickening that these blackmailers who suddenly want to be more Catholic than the Pope are trying to create the false impression that they are committed to our National Chairman whilst at the same abusing him daily in their disruptive so-called MDA gatherings and also filing and maintaining a plethora of mischievous court cases to oppose his lawful and wise decisions to make the party win in Delta.

“We note that as far back as 2016, these same blackmailers laboured everywhere but failed woefully to convince anyone that Chief Ogboru (who is largely believed to be the most popular political figure in Delta State) is afraid of party primaries and would therefore not remain in the APC for long.

“Today, Ogboru is a leading light of the APC in Delta while his traducers are laboring daily to undermine unity in the party to serve their ulterior motive to stop APC from winning any election in Delta, just as they did with joy in 2015.

“The reality is that unlike their traducers and blackmailers, Ogboru, Omo-Agege and Erue (Prophet Jones) are not unstable, fraudulent in character, disruptive by desire or paper-weight political actors. Whereas majority of APC leaders and members know that the blackmailers have no electoral value and cannot therefore win any type of primary election called by the party, it is on record that Chief Ogboru is one of the very few leaders with the ‘Buhari Effect’ charisma and mystic that is necessary for massive grassroots mobilization in Delta State.

The statement further said that Ogboru and Omo-Agege, have adopted ‘strategic calmness’ on the issue primaries, saying that they know that it is not their duty as aspirants to choose the mode of primaries for their party and will not be dragged by mischief-makers into any matter that is an exclusive preserve of the leadership of our party.