… Insist On Delta Governorship
Ahead of the 2023 governorship election in Delta State, Urhobo Leaders of Thought under the aegis of Ja R’Urhobo 2023 (Urhobo Y’Oteri) have appealed to Urhobo royal fathers, patriotic sons and daughters as well as all associations with Urhobo interest to unite towards producing a Delta State governor of Urhobo extraction.
Oja R’Urhobo 2023 is a strategic group of Urhobos comprising Urhobo traditional leaders, the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) and a conglomeration of Urhobo associations and intelligentsia with the objective of ensuring that an Urhobo of Delta Central becomes the governor of the state come 2023.
In a statement titled:“Our Position On the 2023 Delta State Governorship’ signed by Dr. Chief. O. C. Majoroh, Chief Francis Ifie, Olorogun Edoreh Agbah, Chief Dr. Cecilia Ibru and nineteen other notable Urhobo leaders, they called on all Urhobo indigenes to support and work towards delivering an Urhobo governor by ensuring that only Urhobo candidates emerge from either the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The statement added: “It is only through this level of uncommon unity that Urhobo in times past and similar to this, have delivered on a painful objective. Delta State governor of Urhobo extraction come 2023 is exactly one demanding that call to a common cause: “Oja r’Urhobo”.
“This is a task for which we must all unite and sign up to enable us have our say and take our rightful place in Delta State and Nigeria.
“The struggle for an Urhobo governor of our choosing come 2023 is a rally, infact, an urgent movement in strong defense of fairness, equity and justice for which our forefathers are renowned. We cannot do anything less after 16 years of waiting for the two other senatorial districts to quietly have their turn at the governor’s desk in Asaba.”
The Urhobo leaders rejected the alleged efforts by state sponsored attempts to force an aspirant on the Urhobo nation against the collective will of the Urhobo people, stressing that Urhobos are competent, erudite, independent and industrious and therefore must be allowed to project her own candidates across the political parties.
They reminded: “In 2014, Delta North rejected a state anointed aspirant and was solely responsible for projecting her preferred aspirant. So, let it be in 2023 with Delta Central.”
The leaders commended the courage of Urhobo aspirants that have purchased the governorship forms, but, however, noted that the multiplicity of Urhobo aspirants will eventually lead to the fragmentation of Urhobo votes and loss, believing that it will be a miscalculation for Urhobos to go into the primaries with over ten aspirants.
