By Our Correspondent

Youths from Delta Central under the auspices of Urhobo National Youth Council (UNYC) Wednesday March 19,  reaffirmed their support for the Chief Tuesday Onoge led integrity faction of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) saying he is the authentic President General of UPU, just as they vowed to defend the original Uvwiamuge Declaraion which adopted the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor as their consensus Urhobo candidate.

Chief Tuesday Onoge, Acting President General, UPU (middle) in a group photograph with Urhobo Youths, yesterday at his residence in Warri.

The youths who came from the 25 kingdoms of Urhobo land made this vow in Warri, Delta State when they paid a solidarity visit to Chief Onoge to debunk the allegation that the UPU Acting President-General was arrested and taking to Force Headquarters in Abuja to answer questions in connection with the crisis in UPU.

Speaking at the occasion the youth leader, Comrade Monday Oyeghe said they had to come and see Chief Onoge with their own eyes to confirm that he was not arrested, adding they would have done the needful if the rumour of Chief Onoge’s arrest were to be true.

According to Comrade Oyeghe, “when he read about Chief Onoge’s arrest on a social network especially facebook via the page of one Sunday Basikoro, I had to place a call to him to find out if the rumour was true and PG Onego answered and said he was comfortably at his Country home in Ekpan near Warri in Delta State.”

The vibrant youth leader of the UPU Ighele said he was ready to mobilize the whole Urhobo youths to Abuja to ask for his release, but was now happy that it was all rumour adding that the peddler of the fake news must be brought to book and punished according to law.

He said Chief Onoge is the authentic President General of UPU, stressing that any other person parading himself as the PG of UPU is an imposter and they are not in support of that person.

Comrade Oyeghe therefore, called on Chief Tuesday Onoge to continue the struggle for the redemption and remodeling of UPU and  Urhobo nation, saying that they are solidly behind him, predared at all times to give him both moral, spiritual and physical support to ensure that the struggle to actualize the original Uvwiamuge Declaration comes to fruition.

He also assured the UPU PG that they will mobilize the entire Urhobo nation to vote for General Mohammadu Buhari and Olorogun O’tega Emerhor as well as candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the next General elections in Delta State and across the country.

Responding Chief Onoge thanked the youth body for their concern, assuring them that he will not fail them as they continue to struggle for the emancipation of the Urhobo nation.

He appealed to the youth body to remain calm because he was never arrested as rumoured in facebook, noting that nobody can arrest him because he is not a common criminal.

Chief Onoge reassured the youths that there was no going back in the struggle for the emancipation of the Urhobo nation and more importantly the actualization of the Uvwiamuge Declaration, pointing out that with the support of the youths the integrity UPU of the Urhobo Nation will win the battle against internal coercion, corruption and betrayal of the Urhobo Nation by some individuals who compromised to make UPU and the Urhobo ethnic nationality a laughing stock before other ethnic Unions in Nigeria.

He therefore called on the youths to go and get their Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) ready and vote out the rulling party (PDP) that have deliberately ignored and short-changed the Urhobo Nation since the commencement of President Goodluck Jonathan till date.

Chief Onoge stressed that it was high time the Urhobo nation fought to release themselves from the economic and political slavery that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has subjected them to in the past 16 years.