URHOBO GROUP CALLS ON UPU EXCO TO RESIGN FOR BREACHING UVWIAMUGE DECLARATION … Says Emerhor is Urhobos sole candidate for Governorship race, Rejects Jonathan

By Francis Sadhere

An Urhobo group under the aegis of Delta Central (Urhobo) Elders, Leaders and Stakeholders Forum has called on the entire executive of the Urhobo cultural apex body, Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), to resign from their positions for breaching the Uvwiamuge Declaration, just as they rejected President Goodluck Jonathan as their presidential candidate.

The group made this call Friday at a press briefing in Warri, Delta State. They said they were reacting to a newspaper publication in one of the national dailies titled “Urhobo Reject Buhari; Pledges Support For Jonathan.”

According to the Chairman of the group, Chief Patrick E. S. Ideh, the publication credited to the UPU President General, Chief Joe Omene is a breach and disgraceful betrayal of Urhobo moral standing and gross disrespect  for the sanctity of the “Uvwiamuge Declaration” which remains binding until revoked or amended by another Assembly of Urhobos.

The Urhobo elders and leaders said such statement coming from the apex body of Urhobo nation was at variance with the Urhobo Uvwiamuge Declaration, condemning the statement as untrue, false,  poisonous and intended to mislead the Urhobo people.

It reminded the UPU executives that when some Urhobo politicians acted as agents of non-Urhobo Governorship aspirants, the UPU leadership under Chief Joe Omene placed traditional sanctions on them.

The group therefore said: “Unfortunately, Joe Omene’s press statement in support of the PDP presidential candidate, is a negation of the spirit and letter of the Uvwiamuge Declaration and constituted a greater offence than that of those earlier sanctioned”.

“We call on Omene and his erring executives to identify and sanction themselves by resigning their positions. Meanwhile we call on Urhobos to be vigilant and join hands together and work for the victory of Buhari and O’tega in Urhobo land”

According to the group, the Uvwiamuge Declaration is a properly articulated political road map of the Urhobos for 2015 General election that was “wholesomely adopted at the conference of the Assembly of the Urhobos which was attended by the entire Urhobo leadership including His Excellency Professor Amos Utuam (SAN), Deputy Governor of Delta state, Urhobo National and State Assembly members, traditional rulers, opinion leaders, Urhobo clergies, youths and women bodies.”

The group added that the Uvwiamuge Declaration had urged all Urhobos interested in contesting the position of governorship of Delta State to join any of the two parties with national spread and that Urhobos will only work with any of the two parties (PDP or APC) that adopt an Urhobo as her governorship candidate.

“Of the two parties under reference, only the APC met the conditions stipulated in the Uvwiamuge declaration. Therefore, by giving O’tega Emerhor their governorship ticket, the APC had automatically entered into a binding contract between the party and the Urhobos (UPU).

“And in fulfillment of our part to the contract, the APC presidential candidate, General Buhari becomes exclusively entitled to Urhobo votes and support. Also O’tega Emerhor becomes the Urhobo sole candidate for the 2015 governorship race,” the group noted.