*Restates How APC Was Deprived of Victory in Bayelsa, Edo States…
Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has expressed confidence that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would win the Governorship seats in the South-South region of the country in the 2023 general elections.
Senator Omo-Agege, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review stated this while speaking with newsmen at end of APC’s South-South Zone ‘Town Hall Meeting’ on Constitution Review in Asaba, Delta State, Saturday.
He expressed confidence that APC will take over from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who had dominated previous elections conducted in the region.
According to Senator Omo-Agege, who represents Delta Central Senatorial District, APC has taken necessary and appropriate steps to ensure that the region becomes a stronghold of the party.
He also noted that about 36 million Nigerians have registered with the party in the ongoing registration and revalidation exercise across the country, stating that the party’s members alone are enough to win any election in Nigeria.
The Deputy Senate President also stated that the recent influx of members from the opposition party to the APC has put the party on a strong pedestal ahead of the 2023 polls.
Senator Omo-Agege also maintained that the APC won the recent Governorship election in Edo and Bayelsa states, alleging that the opposition party used the instrument of court to get to power.
He, however, assured party’s supporters that such won’t happen again, as APC is now fully committed to winning all the Governorship seats in the region.
In Omo-Agege’s words, “The South-South region is growing to become a formidable base of our great party. By the end of the 2023 general elections, it is our aspiration to have in our column, control of all the six states in the region. This is possible and we intend to make it happen.
“We won in Bayelsa and Bayelsa was clearly ours but we were deprived, using the instrument of the court in the last minute. We won in Edo but for obvious reasons, we were also deprived. So, when people say the South-South has a PDP DNA, it is not true because as we speak right now, people are decamping from PDP into APC in droves.
“As we proceed with the registration, initially we started with a 12 million membership target, we have gone ahead to 36 million members across the country. So, if only our members alone vote for us, we will win elections here and the PDP here in Delta State knows that we are ready for them. It’s not going to be easy but we are ready and we are just going to put our house in order.’’
It would be recalled that in the officials results declared by the independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in November 16, 2019 Bayelsa state governorship polls showed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was defeated by the All Progressives Congress(APC)’s David Lyon who roared to a historic victory.
The results as collated and announced from all eight local governments showed that the APC polled a total 352,552 votes representing 70.57% of the total votes to PDP’s 143,172 which accounted for 28.66% of the total votes cast in the election.
With a margin of 209,380 votes, APC had coast home to a resounding victory. However, a judgement subsequently emerged from the Supreme Court which sent shock waves down the bone marrows of many.
The apex court judgement sacked the APC candidate in the Baylesa Guber poll , Mr David Lyon less than 24-hours to his inauguration on the grounds that his deputy, Senator Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo allegedly presented certificates with multiple discrepancies in his name.
For APC’s Lyon who had won the election by a landslide as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the 360 U-turn following the apex court ruling, it was a most shocking turn of events.
The much contested judgement consequently handed over victory to the People’s Democratic Party’s candidate and incumbent Governor Duoye Diri .
Also, there had been an epic battle for the control of the political soul of Edo state. In last year’s governorship race between incumbent Governor Godwin Obaseki who decamped from the APC to the PDP and his main challenger, APC’s Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, it was a titanic war.
At the end, Obaseki triumphed scoring a total of 307,955 votes, while Ize-Iyamu garnered 223,619 votes. However, since then, both political combatants have been locked in endless legal battles.
While APC’s Ize-Iyamu is challenging the credentials of Governor Obaseki of the PDP candidate in the 2020 governorship poll in Edo, who was declared winner of the election by INEC, Ize-Iyamu is on the o0ther hand, also facing contestation in court over alleged issues of election funds and sundry matters in court.
Recall also that the APC had appealed a Federal High Court of Abuja judgement which gave Governor Obaseki a clean bill of health on his credentials. The APC had asked the Appeal Court to nullify Obaseki re-election over alleged possession of an alleged forged Bachelor’s degree certificate from the university of Ibadan.
However, in its ruling which was recently delivered, the court ruled in favour of PDP’s Governor Obaseki.
