By Our Correspondent
The political struggle for the “Soul of Delta State” is tensed as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) hope of sustaining its tradition of winning legal battles to retain its stronghold in the power game dims by the day.
A source close to the State Party Chairman confirmed that PDP structures across the state have been put on RED ALERT in early preparations for possible re-run election.
The nucleus of the fear gripping the PDP is said to revolve around the admission of the INEC CARD READER by the tribunal and the testimony of key witnesses from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) who confirmed during cross-examination that 709,000 voters were captured in Delta State during the April 11 governorship elections.
PDP is worried that the card reader may fracture their legal game plan and jeopardize perceived victory at the tribunal. The votes declared at the end of the election saw Gov. Okowa winning with a figure higher than that recorded in the card reader as per number of voters captured.
What this means is that if only Okowa’s votes exceeds the 709,000 voters capture, it appears that Deltans did not vote for the other candidates of political parties that participated in the election including the APC and LP. The question is how come LP candidate scored a little above 100,000 votes and APC garnered little above 60,000 votes when PDP votes already exceeded the 709,000 voters captured?
Another riddle which the legal team of the PDP need to explain is that of GHOST voters which increased the figures from 709,000 to over one million votes. This simple Arithmetic worries the PDP and its legal team which is why the party has commenced secret preparations for a re-run. It appears that the party’s rigging strategies hit the rocks this time around and the card readers seem to be the major obstacle.
The source further hinted that this development crashed the hope of the PDP legal team currently battling to strangulate the trial process through crafted legal technicalities that appears not to work out as planned. PDP is parading three high flyer Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) with a view to intimidate the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Labour Party (LP) and their candidates at the on-going trial.
I have it on good account that PDP decided to appoint certain political technicians as Commissioners and key personnel of the DESOPADEC who have the uncommon experience to mobilize against the APC and LP should a re-run occurs.
For this reason, some persons whose names were in the list for the positions of Commissioners and DESOPADEC principal staff were dropped at the last minute to accommodate the political “heavy weights” known to have reasonable political strongholds in their various LGAs, Constituencies and Senatorial Districts in the state.
This last hour “dropping of names” is also producing serious cracks in PDP political structure. Some of the key persons dropped from cabinet appointments, according to a reliable source, are threatening the party and now re-grouping with their massive supporters to decamp to the APC.
It is not clear as at press time if their threats have been addressed by the state party structure. What is however clear is that Governor Okowa and the party leadership have instructed their aides and party faithful to get ready for another electioneering show-down with the APC and LP in the very near future.
The APC and its candidate, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor are also re-strategizing which is why the party national executives has beamed their search light on key political players within the party in Delta State, so as to reconcile all aggrieved parties as well as look elsewhere for solid political affiliations.
It is also clear that the Labour Party candidate, Chief Great Ogboru is in high spirit and had informed his supporters and political associates that he is likely to move to the APC and reconcile with his former political associate, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor.
In one of his recent interview, Ogboru disclosed that he had opened up discussions with the national body of the APC and that joining the party in the near future is a possible reality.
If things work out between the APC and LP, what Deltans will see in the possible re-run is a superb COLLABO of two shining light in Delta State (Otega and Ogboru) joining forces to undo the PDP and Okowa’s political empire.
For real, the battle will be an interesting spectacle because of the strategies and political re-alignments that will characterize the campaign and re-run election.
Another scenario that will come to play during the re-run is the total mobilization of the Urhobo Nation expected to queue behind the UNITY CANDIDATE for the election.
The division in Urhobo politics as witnessed during the April 11 governorship election would have been settled completely. The Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) may not feature this time around, giving room for a healthy political synergy in Delta Central.
There is also the possibility of the key political players in Delta South to join forces with the APC and its candidate to wreck havoc on the PDP’s desire to retain power. There are strong indications that Chief Omo-Agege will also move to the APC.
Chief Ayiri Emami, Olorogun Jaro Egbo and some other APC strategic team recently visited Omo-Agege in preparation for possible political affiliation. Rumours has it that the former Governor of Delta State, Dr Emmanuel Iweta Uduaghan and his political structure may also join the APC political mega force to strangulate the dream of PDP retaining political power in the State. This rumour is however yet to be confirmed.
In all of these, Deltans have the greatest role to play which is that the opportunity of the possible re-run will enable them to truly determine the candidate and the party of their choice. The political pendulum will swing to the APC due to the frustrations of Deltans occasioned by the perceived bad governance and the ever increasing debt profile of the state.
The APC and its candidate, Olorogun Otega Emerhor had accused the PDP of 16 years of misrule which is responsible for acute poverty, gross underdevelopment, sorrowful rate of unemployment, hunger and frustration among the people in the State and promise to step up the political struggle to free Deltans from socio-economic slavery so as to begin a new era of economic remodeling of Delta State.
