Delta PDP To Uduaghan: No, ‘You Left Because You Couldn’t Get Our Automatic Ticket’

The Delta State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has reacted to former Governor of the State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan’s claims that he left the party because his successor, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa doesn’t listen to wise counsel.

Uduaghan was quoted to have made the remark during an APC campaign rally in Koko, headquarters of Warri North Council Area.

But in a statement signed by Dr. Ifeanyi Michael Osuoza, State Publicity Secretary, and obtained by BigPen Online, the party said Dr Uduaghan actually left because he was unhappy that he was not handed an automatic ticket for the Delta South senatorial district seat.

The party however described the claims by the former governor as unfortunate and a huge disappointment, because according to them Uduaghan ought to exhibit a more responsible level of verbal decency and decorum, irrespective of his new political affiliations.

Osuoza said that Dr. Uduaghan was being mischievously economical with the truth of how he left the PDP.

He said: “We are very disappointed with the comment credited to Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan that he left the PDP because our leader and governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa does not listen to wise counsel.

“It is indeed quite disheartening and unfortunate that Dr. Uduaghan will make such a statement to the general public, and our spontaneous reaction would have been to join issues with him robustly, but we will rather refrain from such an obvious bait of deliberate distraction and quickly refer him to the nearly two decades of his own political trajectory and allow him to do the mathematics by himself”.

The PDP scribe reminded Uduaghan that Governor Okowa and executive council of the party with the good and wise counsel from the party’s elder statesmen including former governor, Chief James Ibori had agreed not to provide an automatic ticket for any PDP contestant.

According to PDP, the solemn commitments and firm pledge by the elderstatesmen was to provide a level playing field for all our party faithful to seek the mandate of their constituents, in a keen, fair, transparent and credible primaries that would produce the most popular and deserving candidates to fly our party flag in the general elections, including the keenly contested Delta South Senatorial seat ticket.

“Anybody, who therefore felt that a contrary method of producing our candidates, would have been a wise counsel which our Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa did not listen to, is either suggesting that the counsels of Chief James Ibori and other leaders of the party are not good or wise, or that person must be someone who neither has the welfare of our party nor the interest of our members at heart and it will be germane to remind such people that even Governor Okowa did not invoke or impose his power of incumbency on the process, but rather subjected himself humbly to a governorship primary election, like a true party faithful who desires to lead by example.

“For Dr. Uduaghan to now claim that Governor Okowa does not listen to good or wise counsel, may thus be interpreted as a sad reflection of what certain political ambitions can lead to, especially when placed against the backdrop of the prominent leaders, elders, statesmen and women, who have lined up with our Ekwueme at different podiums and joined the massive teeming crowds across Delta State, to welcome the PDP Campaign train, everywhere we have visited,” Osuoza said.