Ofehe Withdraws From Delta Governorship Race, Team Up With Ogboru

Chief Sunny Ofehe, Human/Environmental Rights Activist and Chief Executive Officer, Hope for Niger Delta Campaigns, The Netherlands has withdrawn from the Delta State governorship race.

Ofehe who was aspiring to contest the 2019 governorship election under the All Progressive Congress (APC), announced his withdrawal on Monday at Ughelli, during the Delta Central senatorial district town hall meeting convened by frontline APC Governorship aspirant, Chief Great Ogboru.

He said that he has collapsed his structures to that of Ogboru and have directed that all his billboards across the state to be taken down and replaced with that of Ogboru whom he described as a leading aspirant that can defeat an incumbent governor.

Meanwhile, Ofehe in an earlier statement obtained by BigPen Online, said that as a civil society expert, coming from the Diaspora, his releasing of N22.5million to purchase an APC Expression of Interest and Nomination forms would only bring his hard earn reputation before international community to question hence he decided not to pick the form rather to join force with a leading aspirant in the race.

“As an activist with well tailored civil society experience over the years, my major concern is to be a partaker in the process of correcting the ills in the society.

“My message since I took the decision to foray into the Delta State governorship race is that I’m not the usual politician, I’m the unusual one and I know my type are rare in this country.

“I have always said that I don’t do money-politics and if I have my way I would champion a process that would correct the negative narratives that we have in our today’s budding politics which include electing our leaders through buying and selling of votes.

“I choose to belong to the APC and I have no regret joining the party. I also have the constitutional rights to choose where to associate.

“I have the right to say I want to associate with APC as a party to realise my political ambition to serve my people and I can boldly say APC have no right to edge me or any other persons who have chosen to identify with the progressives with a deliberate fees hike”.

He said that as an activist, he had by virtue of the provision of Article 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, moved to challenge the imposition of the allegedly exorbitant fees which he said had precluded or foreclosed him from freely participating in the government of his State but decided to also pull the matter from the court.

“It was based on this that, after due consultations with notable personalities and my immediate family and supporters, I decided to challenge the APC with a fundamental human rights case. However after also weighing the pros and cons of the case and it’s multiplier effect on the party fortune I have decided to withdraw it”, Ofehe added.