Francis Sadhere
The member representing Warri South Constituency II in the Delta State house of Assembly, Hon. (Barr.) Dennis Omovie has denied insinuations in some quarters that he handpicked councilors during the just concluded Delta State People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) Local Government primaries, saying that he had no hands in the process that made them councillorship candidates.
Speaking to Journalist yesterday in Warri at the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ), Warri Correspondent Chapel, during a press briefing, Hon, Omovie said it was not true that he single handedly handpicked councillorship candidate for the party.
He said he had no power to handpick anybody, explaining that he “cannot be part of the process that made them candidates of the party since it was a party decision and not a one man decision,
“It is not true that I handpicked any councillorship candidate for the party because I do not have the power to do so. I cannot be part of the process that brought them out as candidate. It was a party affair and everybody was involved in the process. So I don’t see any reason why people should be saying that handpicked any councillorship candidate.”
Speaking on the issue of the autonomy of the state houses of assemblies in the country, Hon. Omovie said that state houses of Assemblies are agitating to make a law that will give them independence to do their jobs perfectly well.
He said; “As it is today, no House of Assembly is independent. This is the reasons why most houses of assemblies are agitating to be independent to their jobs freely. You know this issue of checks and balances is affecting the way we work seriously. You know there is a popular saying that he, who pays the piper, dictates the tone. We are going to get there one day though.”
Speaking on another issue that he and the state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan were not in good terms because his stand for the Urhobo nation, Hon. Omovie said there was no quarrel between him and the governor, stressing that for that fact that he does not accompany the governor to most function does not mean they were quarreling.
“It is true that I will do anything to protect the interest of the Urhobos but that does not mean that I have problems with the Governor. For the fact that I do not follow him around to most function because of my schedule does not mean that we have problems. It is true that I am ready to stick out my neck for the sake of the Urhobos but I cannot fight with my governor,” said Omovie.
Hon. Omovie blamed the non-participation of the Urhobos in the Warri politics to in-house problems within the Urhobos, calling on the Urhobos to come and fight as one indivisible ethnic group in Warri.
He said; “For sometimes now, no Urhobo man has shown interest for House of Assembly to represent Warri constituency II. The problem is that we are not united. If we see our brother showing interest in any elections, we r un him down with all that we have instead of supporting him. So the problem is an in-house problem and I believe it is only the Urhobos that can solve it themselves. You have to insist on what you want and you will get it.”
Also speaking on the controversial death penalty bill for kidnappers, Hon. Omovie said that as members of the House of Assembly, the bill was sent to the governor who refused to sign it and the house had to sign the bill into law as the law requires.
The Delta State law maker who revealed that he was ready to run for another tenure, stressed that the constitution gives him the right to run for the position as many times as he wants.
“The law does not limit us on the number of times we should run for the house of assembly. Law making is a carrier job and I have the right to run as many times I choose to run. Law making is all about experience. The longer you stay the more experience you get and the better you become in the act of law making. I believe that I can still represent my people better if I am re-elected,” he said.
