Asaba – Chief Cyril Ogodo, former Delta State House of Assembly, candidate under the Labour Party in Sapele Local Government Area has been elected new chairman of the Delta State’s All Progressives Congress, APC.
In a keenly contested state congress in Asaba, Delta State, Ogodo defeated his closest rival, Barr. Fred Obey, who pulled 99, after one of the contestants for the chairmanship position, Hon. Joshua Uturu, accepted to step down from the race, to score 731.
The congress was chaired by Hon. Eugene Odoh, who said he acted on the directive of the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party that postponed the congress till today.
But the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachiukwu, and a frontline Governorship aspirant of the party, Prof. Pat Utomi, were conspicuously absent at the event.
Ogodo while promising to unite members in order to install an APC government in Delta state, he thanked Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, Engr. Hyacinth Enoha, Chief Frank Ajobene, NDDC Executive Director, Project, Engr. Sam Adjogbe, the Congress Committee and other leaders of the party for carrying out a good job.
According to the newly elected Chairman, it’s only in Delta state that a free, fair and peaceful congress was held where representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and National Working Committee of the APC were present.
He thanked Engr. Fred Obe who contested against him for accepting the results. “Your boldness for contesting for the APC State Chairmanship seat with ne shows that you are a man with a big heart whom I can work with. Let us go home and be more united to install APC government in Delta state come 2019.
The leader of the party in the state, Emerhor, supported by the former South-South Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), now a chieftain and a governorship hopeful of the APC next year, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, the former Speaker of the state’s House of Assembly, Hon. Victor Ochei, who hailed the peaceful conduct of the exercise, assured that peace will soon return to the party.
He said, “this is the proper congress. Any congress conducted without the valid list of delegates, without the designated working committee, officials of INEC, which paraded Senator Olugbenga Obadara, as chairman, cannot be adjudged as proper.”
He lamented that disunity in the party was sponsored by Omo-Agege and Ogboru, who recently joined the party from the Labour Party (LP).
Emerhor thaked party leaders present for keying into the ‘unity train’ of the party in Delta state, “although there are some persons in the state who does not want to join the unity train”, he added.
According to Emerhor, now that we are through with the election of new executives for the party, we will reach out to them to reconcile them into the unity train because we have the PDP to fight and if we don’t reconcile, it will be difficult to unseat the PDP in Delta state.
On their part, Former Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, RT. Hon. Victor Ochei and Chief Frank Enoha described the congress as the best they have ever witnessed as politicians.
Prior to this, a factional congress, which held on Saturday under the auspices of the Senator, representing Delta Central Senatorial District, Ovie Omo-Agege, and Great Ogboru, had caused disunity in the party.
The two warring factions, include the 2015 governorship candidate of the party, Olorogun O’Tega Emerhor, Senator Omo-Agege, Ogboru, Chief Frank Kokori, wife of the former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mrs. Nneamaka Ali, the immediate past state chairman of the party in the state, Prophet Jones Ode-Erue, who was returned unopposed by Omo-Agege’s faction.
Comments
Post a Comment