Robinson Ariyo

By Francis Sadhere

Former governorship candidate   under the platform of Labour Party, during the 2015 general election, Chief Great Ogboru has been described as the most influential opposition candidate that can give the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at run for their money come 2019.

Former Delta State House of Assembly candidate under the platform of the All Progressives Party (APC) during the 2015 general election, Barrister Robinson Ariyo told our correspondent in an interview in Warri that Ogboru is a voice to recogn with in the fight against PDP in the state.

“As it stands right now, Chief Great Ogboru is the most influential candidate in Delta state. He is the only person that has won elections in this state. But because of politics, he has always been denied the opportunity to be the governor of the state. In the last election, he is the only opposition candidate that was able to score over 300,000 votes closest to PDP. I work with statistics. I do not know Ogboru in person. Now that he has joined the APC, he should not be relegated to the background.”

Ariyo added that if APC wants to win the next election come 2019 it must also put it’s house in order and give the governorship ticket to a man that is popular and most qualified.

He said APC should not make the mistake of giving the party ticket to an inconsequential candidate otherwise PDP would coast to victory without any fight, adding that that will be devastating to the APC in the state.

On the  court victory of the Prophet Jones Erueh led Delta state APC executive, Barr. Ariyo said its not yet Uhuru for Prophet Jones, saying that he has also filled a  court case against Delta APC executive in which judgment will be given very soon.

He said Prophet Jones who also took the party to court without exhausting the internal mechanism of the party in resolving crisis should not be sitting as the chairman the of the party.

He said, “According to the party’s constitution, members must exhaust all internal mechanism of resolving any crisis in the party before going to court. This Prophet Jones did not do when he sued the party. By this action, Prophet Jones should be disqualified as a member of the party. When you take the party to court, you are automatically expelled from the party. The party’s constitution said it is automatic explosion for anybody who takes the party to court.”

To move the APC forward, Barr Ariyo urged Prophet Jones to involve all party members in taking decision that will impact positively on the future of the party, adding that leaders must not be relegated to the background but must be carried along.

Ariyo, however described the formula used by the Prophet Jones led executive in winning elections in the state, as a “formula of perpetual failure” accusing the party’s executive of neglecting some leaders and elders in the party.

“For the party to win any election in this state, it must overhaul its leadership. The party must have leaders who have merit and influence in the society. We do not need leaders who will not add any value to the party. Mediocrity should not be chosen over merit. There are people who have sacrificed their time and money for this party. These are the people the party must consider before taking any action.

“There are many inexperienced people in the party who do not want to learn. We must recognize these people and remove them from positions of power in the party. There is too much foolery in this part and this is one of the reasons we keep having problems in the party.

“You cannot say you are candidate of this party and during election period you cannot win your ward and local government. I got over 200,000 votes during last House of Assembly election in 2015. That is not a small achievement because it is not easy to pull that amount of crowd. You have to work hard to achieve results. You can tell when a student will be successful through the amount of work he is doing. You do not expect to get good results without working hard for it. APC must work doubles hard to win Delta state,” Ariyo said.