By John Oghojafor
As the race to the 2019 general election gathers momentum in Delta State, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and House of Assembly aspirant from Ethiope East Constituency, Olorogun Barr. Arthur Akpowowo, has advised that the ongoing rebranding exercise of the party in the state can only produce overwhelming victory, if and only if, there would be free, fair and credible party primary election.
Akpowowo stated this while fielding questions from newsmen shortly after the Delta Central PDP meeting that was held at Eku on June 29, 2018. According to him, the party in the past had lost elections in Ethiope East because of imposition of candidates on the people, adding that whoever loves the party should preach a gospel of free, fair and credible election.
Said he: “Whoever loves the party should preach the gospel of free, fair and credible primary. You know I’m a party administrator. I served as a state youth leader for eight years and I can tell you one of the reasons why we have lost elections here (Ethiope East) since 2011 was due to imposition. And we have to correct that because once you impose somebody on the party, those who are aggrieved will have an excuse to go the other way. They will remain in the party but they will work against you.
“I’m a victim. In 2015, the primary was set, the voting was set but some persons for one reason or the other scuttled the exercise because it was not favourable to them. And when I contested, I have people who are leaders in this party who worked against me. So, I’m speaking from experience. And I’m telling you that thing also happened in 2010 when the current Chairman of the Council, Mrs. Faith Majemite, emerged in a way that was not favourable to majority of the party.
“So, what I’m saying now, I’m repeating it a party man who was once a youth leader of this ward, who was once a youth leader of this local government and in fact a state youth leader by divine providence, is that there must be free, fair and credible primary. Once that takes place we are going to win Ethiope East.”
Emphasizing further on the need for a free, fair and credible primary for the PDP, Akpowowo stressed that there should be free, fair and credible primary in all the 29 State Constituencies in the House of Assembly, the ten federal constituencies for House of Representatives and the three Senatorial seats, adding that once that is done, the party will be strong.
“We also asked that the 29 constituencies of the Delta State House of Assembly, there should be free, fair and credible primary and even the 10 federal constituencies for House of Representatives, there should be primary. Once you do that, the party will be strong”, he said.
Akpowowo also used the occasion to stress that the governor is in support of a free, fair and credible primary, adding that he should take every aspirant as his own and whoever wins the primary will be loyal to him.
He appealed to party leaders to allow for free, fair and credible election in order for the party to become stronger to be able to win all election come 2019.
The Eku-born politician disclosed that the PDP at the moment is rebranding, stressing that for that reason the party should dispense with old ways of consensus and imposition of candidate on the party just as he noted that failure to jettisoned old way would mean that it would get the same result it has always gotten over the years, especially in Ethiope East.
