By Gbenga Abulude (Politics & General Desk)
The hopes of aspirants seeking elective council positions in Delta state have been dashed as the election earlier scheduled for January, 2021 has been postponed. This was made known on Sunday, by the Delta Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa at a thanksgiving service organized to celebrate the re-emergence of the Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Delta State chapter, Chief Kingsley Esiso, in Sapele.
Governor Okowa who congratulated Chief Esiso on his re-emergence, cautioned aspirants in the upcoming local council elections in the state to exercise restraint in their consultations and campaigns as the election would not hold in January, 2021 as being speculated. Recall that the last election was held in January 6, 2018 as announced by the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC). Aspirants gunning for the post of local government council chairmen and councilors had expected the election would hold in January.
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But Okowa who was addressing party leaders and members at the church service disclosed, “Delta Council election is not coming up in January, so please you must all slow down and not waste your money before time.” A new date has not been chosen yet. Okowa who was elated by the feat of his party, PDP and his role in the recent Edo gubernatorial elections, held on September 19, said the party would do everything possible to win the 2023 presidential election and restore good governance to the country.
He stated that the party would work very hard to win more states in the country as a step to getting back control of the presidency which it lost in 2015. The Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa urged Nigerians to support the PDP to take over governance in the country in 2023.According to him, with the abysmal performance of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government, Nigerians are already convinced on the need to vote back PDP to power in 2023. Okowa urged Esiso to get ready for future challenges.
He thanked party faithful for their support which led to the re-election of the Esiso as chairman of the party. “We have come here to give thanks to God because whatever we achieve in life is not the work of any man. Man can try but whatever we do is by the will of God that we triumph and it is only normal that we return all the glory to God.
“Chairman you must learn to work with everybody in the state irrespective of their tribe because everyone matters in building a political party. I can attest that the Esiso-led executive has brought sanity into the party because before the last general elections, we assured our members in the state that we will organise free, fair and credible primaries for all aspirants.
“At the end of all the primaries, our party members realised that we meant business when we said we will organise credible primaries for aspirants because some aspirants close to me lost while some that are not close to me also won.
“Once we are able to recognise that everybody matters in the party it becomes very easy to control the party and I am convinced that, this is the stand of the Esiso-led executive,” Okowa said.
The governor also solicited for the support of State Executive Committee (SEC) of the party to succeed. Distinguished personalities that graced the thanksgiving service include the Deputy Governor, Mr Kingsley Otuaro; Senator James Manager, Chief Efe Afe of the House of Representatives; Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Chief Sheriff Oborevwori.
Earlier, the party chairman in his address expressed his delight at the grand reception in his honour. “I am not a perfect person and in the course of my duty I may have offended some people, please forgive me. Let me thank all the leaders in Sapele PDP for their support and i believe that in politics everyone has his own day,” Esiso said.
The chairman of Sapele PDP LGA Chapter, Chief Perkins Umukoro thanked the governor and Delta PDP for returning Chief Esiso unopposed as State Chairman of the party. He said Esiso had attracted several infrastructural developments to Sapele and would continue to work with him to take the party to greater heights.
