REPLY TO TONY ELUEMUNO’S Exposed: UPU’s False Claims…. As Urhobo Threat Over Jonathan, Okowa, Evaporates

This is what you get when some UPU leaders decide to make UPU a partisan organization (an appendage of PDP) rather than maintaining neutrality and serving as an umbrella organization for all Urhobos irrespective of political affiliation. The blunders keep evolved as follows:

Firstly, the Uvwiamughe declaration was an unnecessary interjection of UPU into partisan politics. The UPU should allow Urhobo sons and daughter in the various parties to struggle for various positions and offices within their parties without any interference by UPU.

Secondly, the UPU should not have organized a "primary" for all PDP gubernatorial aspirants and then select one. Afterall, UPU is not PDP. Why did UPU not do the same for the other parties? No other ethnic organization went as far as to make a "declaration" or select a candidate for a party.

Thirdly, it was a fatal mistake for some UPU leaders to go to Abuja to pledge Urhobo support for GEJ/PDP. Nigeria is practicing multiparty democracy and Urhobo sons and daughters, including leaders/officers of UPU, should be free to join any party of their choice. However, UPU leaders must not use their office to support one party or candidate over another; their support must be private and secret.

Fourthly, the strategy of supporting GEJ/PDP at the presidential election and Ogboru/LP at the gubernatorial election (in hopes that Ogboru will decamp to PDP later) is problematic at best. What if Buhari/APC wins the presidential election and Okowa/PDP wins the gubernatorial election? UPU should have no business in supporting any candidate or party at any level.

To resolve the crisis within UPU, the leaders must refrain from dragging the organization into partisan politics. They need to issue another "declaration" on the political neutrality of the organization. UPU needs to refocus its attention on cultural, socio-economic, environmental, governance, security and leadership issues in Urhoboland as well as advocacy on behalf of the Urhobo people. The organization appears to be dissipating its energy on political issues.

Dr. Emmanuel Ojameruaye

Phoenix, Arizona, USA

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