*Says All Screened Aspirants ‘ll l Go for primary
Against the backdrop of rumours making the round that the member representing Ethiope Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Ben Igbakpa, who is presently aspiring to return to the House in 2023, is considering stepping down for another aspirant, he has spoken out loudly that he has never at any time contemplated stepping down for the member representing the Ethiope West Constituency in the State House of Assembly, Hon. Mrs. Erhiatake Suenu nor anybody else for that matter.
Hon. Erhiatake Suenu who is in her second tenure as member representing Ethiope West State Constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly, is the daughter of former governor of the State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori. She has been reported to have bought the Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms to contest for the Ethiope Federal Constituency in the 2023 election. She has also been reported to be crisscrossing the entire Federal Constituency wooing delegates in the PDP primary schedule coming up in about two weeks’ time.
However, reacting to a question over an alleged rumour that he is stepping down from the race for Erhiatake to pick the PDP ticket for the Ethiope Federal Constituency, the current member representing the constituency, Igbakpa, who spoke to our correspondent in an exclusive interview in his Sapele country home over the weekend, averred that stepping down for the daughter of the PDP leader nor anybody else is not in the picture nor on the table.
Igbakpa noted that the race as at this point between him and Erhiatake was more or less a family affair, adding that he was sure that the aspirants would be given a level playing ground to canvass their popularity and allow the delegates to make their choice. According to him, after the primary, whoever emerges as candidate of the party, will receive his support.
He said: “Stepping down is not in the picture, it’s not in the table at all. It is a family thing; I still consider it a family thing. Like I keep telling people, we belong to the same father, one a biological daughter, the other a biological son. I’m sure we shall be given a level playing field to do what we have to do. We have been allowed to go to the field to canvass for support, show our popularity and show our capacity. And I believe the delegates will speak.
“I believe that it is either you win or you lose. Even in business, it is either you succeed or you fail. There are no two ways about it. Nobody dies. We are one family and we remain one family. If after the primary I don’t succeed, but my younger sister emerges, I’m ready to support her, give her all necessary cooperation to make sure she succeeds. If that is the wish of the people, then there is no problem. And I pray she has the same mindset for me. We can’t afford to divide the family. I’m very sure Chief Ibori will give us a level playing ground. But as for stepping down, no, we have crossed that stage.”
While x-raying the prospect of the PDP in the forthcoming 2023 general election, Igbakpa said that Nigerians have become wiser now and will definitely vote for PDP.
“Nigerians have been married to two wives and now, they know the better of them. Today, Nigerians cannot go to their farms. People are being sold for money, kidnappers everywhere….”
On the current intra-party crisis taking place in the Delta State PDP over the choice of who flies the party’s governorship flag, Igbakpa noted that the situation had always been like this prior to the primary, adding that after the primary when the party has picked its flagbearer, other aspirants will queue behind him and ensure the party wins.
