By Our Correspondent
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State has accused Gov. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa and the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state of strategic moves to silence the opposition voices so as to further mislead and misinform Deltans.
The party in a statement by Director of Media & Political Communication, Dr Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe said that the state government in a statement signed by the acting Publicity Secretary of PDP, Chief Sunny Onuesoke and circulated widely on social media alleged that one of its Chief Publicist, Dr Oghenesivbe be rebuked for his proactive advocacy centered on the reporting of proceeding at the Delta election tribunal seating in Asaba.
Oghenesivbe in a statement sent to the Nigerian mass media from Ghana where he is currently attending a conference stated in part:
“In the past couple of weeks the state governor created the Social Media Directorate and recruited over 250 social media bloggers operating in various groups to attack APC and its media handlers.
“The government media team in their news reporting of proceedings tried to mislead and misinform the good people of Delta State by engaging in sensational reporting of the election tribunal proceedings and in the process the APC Media team promptly and consistently informed Deltans about the true situation at the tribunal.
“PDP and the state government got infuriated by the proactive advocacy and accurate reporting of the proceedings at the tribunal and decided to attack the personality of APC Media Director, Dr. Oghenesivbe.
“PDP through various social media groups namely Ika Peoples Voice, Anioma Politicians Forum, Deltans Diaspora, Deltainfo, Transparency TF, Secretreporters, Delta PDP Online and many others started massive attacks on the APC and Oghenesivbe when that failed as expected, PDP instructed Chief Sunday Onuesoke to engage APC in a total media warfare to silence the voices of the opposition in the state.
APC is aware that the PDP and the state government has set aside substantial financial resources to attack Delta APC in the mass media but the fact remains that the struggle to free Deltans from socioeconomic slavery orchestrated by PDP in its 16 years of misrule in the state is a task that must be done.
“Delta State currently owe over N1.5 trillion debt and also lost over N50 billion Naira in the Delta Independent Power Project (IPP) among other blue elephant projects.
“The State is in acute darkness, high rate of unemployment, infrastructural decay, poor health services, three years of students bursaries unpaid and Deltans are groaning in pains, poverty, hunger, insecurity and inhuman living conditions.
Oghenesivbe asserted that the accusations directed at him and his Principal Olorogun Otega Emerhor by the state government and Chief Onuesoke is a total waste of efforts, baseless, mischievous, unfounded and ill-motivated, pointing out that it was shameful and unpatriotic for the PDP state party structure to raise alarm over freedom of speech and expression as guaranteed by the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria (as amended).
APC Delta will continue to do the needful to debunk unbalanced reporting of proceedings at the tribunal, falsehood, total misrepresentation of facts or half-truth by the state media team or news agents of the PDP and the state government.
