By John Oghojafor
Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, has been returned unopposed in the PDP Okpe Constituency primary that was held at Council Hall, Orerokpe Thursday.
Hon. Oborevwori was reaffirmed by the people of Okpe Constituency when he polled 142 votes cast by the party delegates in a primary where there was no opposition.
Oborevwori who addressed party member shortly after he was declared winner by the returning officer of the primary, thanked the people for their show of support, assuring them that he would not disappoint them.
He noted that the unity of the leadership of the PDP in Okpe made it possible for him to be the sole-aspirant for the House of Assembly on the platform of the PDP, stressing that it was a demonstration of the fact that the leadership of the party in the area was intact.
Oborevwori recalled that a similar thing played out in 2014 when he became the only aspirant who purchased form for the House of Assembly, adding that Okpe is unique as it is the only Local Government where there was no opposition to the position of the House of Assembly. The PDP candidate assured the people of Okpe that he would not disappoint them.
He said: “I will continue to serve my people. I will continue to work and listen to the advice of my leaders so that Okpe will be lifted from one level to a higher level.”
Oborevwori used the occasion to eulogize the good works of the governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa who he said has done so much for the people of Okpe, assuring that even before the February 2019 election, more projects are expected to be executed in Okpe Local Government Area.
“The governor, the SMART governor, is doing very well. And he has done well in Okpe. More projects are coming to Okpe. Before the election they are going to construct more roads in Okpe”, Oborevwori assured.
Responding to the victory of Oborevwori at the primary, a leader of the party in the area, Chief Sir Tom Amioku, noted that it was a show of solidarity and acceptability that the lawmaker has done well, adding that it was the sole reason why nobody opposed him just as he added that it was a call to him to do more for the Okpe people. He also called on Okpe people to come out en masse to give him support in the election.
He said: “It is a show of solidarity, it is a show of acceptability by his constituents that he has done well. That is why nobody came out to oppose him. It is also a call to him to render more service to his people because to whom much is given much is also expected. And that is why we are calling on Okpe people to come out en masse and give him massive support to go back to the House of Assembly in 2019.”
Also commenting on the affirmation of Hon. Oborevwori as the candidate for Okpe Constituency, the winner of the Okpe, Uvwie and Sapele federal constituency House of Representatives PDP primary, Hon. Efe Afe, noted that he has done so well, assuring that the Okpe people will vote for him overwhelmingly for him for his return to the Delta State House of Assembly.
Afe assured that there will be a synergy between him at the National Assembly and Oborevwori in the State House of Assembly to ensure that Okpe moves forward.
“This is his first tenure which he has not completed but the Okpe people have already given him the mandate for a second tenure. And I know that by March 2, 2019, the Okpe people will reaffirm his membership of the House of Assembly for a second term by voting for him overwhelmingly”, Afe said, assuring that as “a federal legislator and state legislator, we are going to work in harmony especially as we belong to the same party, to move the Okpe forward.”
Earlier, a PDP leader from Ughoto axis of Okpe LGA, Comrade Andrew Agbi has described the incumbent House of Assembly member, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori as a man with a good character, adding that the Okpe people have seen that it will be out of place to replace him with another person.
“The incumbent member of the House of Assembly in this constituency, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori has shown that he is a man with a good and strong character. And that is why the Okpe people have seen that it will be out of place to replace him with another person. In the history of politics in Nigeria, an Okpe man or woman from this area has not been a Speaker in the House of Assembly. And he has performed excellently well in the first tenure. So, that is why the Okpe people deem it fit to give him another chance”, Agbi said.
