Onowakpo Clinches Delta South APC Senatorial Ticket Unopposed

Erstwhile chairman of the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue, (DBIR), Hon. Joel-Onowakpo Thomas, has clinched the Delta South Senatorial ticket of the All Progressive Congress (APC).

Onowakpo was affirmed unopposed as sole aspirant of the party after accredited delegates casted their votes at the primary election held at the Oleh Civic Centre, Isoko South Local Government Area of the state.

The former Federal Inland Revenue Service’s Coordinator for Delta, Edo and Rivers States, polled 285 delegates votes to emerge the flag bearer of the APC.

BIGPENNGR.COM reports that Onowakpo, a seasoned Chartered Accountant turned politician, was elected amidst tight security in the election witnessed by officials of the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC.

Announcing the result of the election primary, chairman of the electoral panel, Sir John Ebireri, gave the total number of delegates as 360 adding that Joel-Onowakpo polled 285 votes with 75 invalid votes.

Speaking to newsmen moments after his declaration, Joel-Onowakpo Thomas thanked the leadership of the party and the people of Delta South Senatorial District for making him the party’s gubernatorial flag bearer.

Joel-Onowakpo said the Delta South Senatorial District should be ready to put their hands together to make sure they deliver him adding that “there will marked differences in the way legislative duties will be done in the National Assembly.”

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He said the Delta APC was poised more than ever before, to win elections in the state as they were now very united and vowed that they are going to win the next elections come 2023.

“Today APC is more united more than ever. The APC we have today is poised to win elections and it is hungry for power and success. So if anybody is telling you today that we are not united, if you had not asked me today in public, I would say let it be like that so that we will surprise them. We are very united and we are going to win this election by God’s grace”.

Joel-Onowakpo noted that if elected into office he is going to work together with his colleagues to ensure that the issue of primary health care services is addressed.

“The primary health care services needs to be addressed because we have come to realize that the thing that killed Nigerians and take them out of the country are little things – high blood pressure, malaria and the rest of them. So along with other of my colleagues, if voted into power we will be able to manage those problems and see that those ailments are tackled at the root.

“Another thing I want to do together with my colleagues at the National Assembly if voted into power is that we will ensure that there are sustainable ways to assist the state government in reducing poverty in their environment.

“The greatest thing that can happen to any man is poverty and once there is poverty this can lead to poverty of the mind and once there is poverty of the mind there is nothing you can do to correct the human race. That needs to be addressed in a sustainable way.

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“The current President is doing so he can to reduce it, but we need to find a sustainable way of doing it so that we will know that it’s established like every other thing.

“I am someone with wide experience in governance, I am someone with experience in public service and I will bring in all these experiences to bare in the National Assembly together with my other colleagues,” Joel-Onowakpo said.

On the issue of factions in Delta APC, Joel-Onowakpo said, “There are no factions in APC. I want to say this today. The APC we have today is far better than the APC we had in 2018. Today those that were disagreeing in Delta have collapsed their structures to work together as one united family”, he enthused.