President General of Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), Chief (Engr.) Joe Omene, has taken a swipe at a Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Senator, Ighoyota Amori, for visiting Taiga as UPU President, saying Taiga is yet to show his contribution to Urhobo Nation.
Omene, who spoke during an interactive session with selected journalists in the state, said Amori is the brain behind the crisis in UPU, adding that despite his promise to produce Urhobo Governor, come 2023, he is not someone that can be trusted.
He added: ”Chief Amori is still that old fraudulent person that we all know. Some aspirants have complained how he has started promising them the DC-23 PDP ticket.”
Adding that what he (Amori) did before is the same thing he wants to do again now.
”Then, he was backing Uduaghan but pretending to be supporting Urhobo cause until the last minute when he mobilsed his Urhobo Political Front (UPF) members to back Uduaghan.
”Towards the election, he dribbled Urhobo nation and supported Uduaghan. I am not surprised that he went to Taiga.”
According to him, Chief Amori and some few Urhobo people, brought a factional President of UPU, Olorogun Moses Taiga to destabilize Urhobo, “because they saw that UPU is becoming stronger and fast becoming the mouthpiece of Urhobo.”
”He was the one and his co-travelers that took the matter to the governor to destabilise UPU. He cannot work with me because I am going to tell Urhobo the truth and not allow Urhobo to be shortchanged. The Taiga group is fraudulent.”
Chief Omene, who alleged that, “Olorogun Moses Taiga still uses UPU letter head bearing his phone number (Omene) and that of his Secretary,”posited that Olorogun Taiga, “did not come to do anything for Urhobo”, challenging him to list some of the things he has done for the past four years.
He said that when he was reportedly elected as the President General of UPU, the branches were few, but: “We have about 24 branches in Urhobo land; we have rescued about 15 Urhobo youths that were trapped in other countries.”
”Till date, the umbrella body of Urhobo students in our higher institutions come to us to settle their issues. They don’t know Taiga.
”Taiga cannot challenge Okowa. Recently when Okowa said something about zoning did they talk? When Ibori’s loot issue came up could they talk? I went to Abuja and told the Federal Government that it is our money and that they cannot use it to fund projects outside Delta and they even wrote us.
”Are there no people in Urhobo land to make PG? They went to Lagos and not just Lagos but brought an Ijaw man and they took the man to the governor. The governor cannot just wake up to destablise Urhobo,” he said.
Speaking further, he said: ”UPU will be more careful this time,” saying that Chief Amori, “cannot be trusted”, claiming: “Chief Amori, will take Urhobo 15 years back, if care is not taken.”
”Amori can end up with an Ijaw man with this his DC-23,” he opined.
Asked what UPU is doing to produce the next governor, he said: “UPU is not a political party; we will use exposure. We will monitor DC-23 as well as checkmate the aspirants. DC-23 is a one man squad. Our objective is to make sure that an Urhobo man becomes the governor of the state, come 2023 and we will support him, even if it is coming from Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa if we have the choice of picking between Okowa’s Urhobo choice and that of Amori’s DC-23.”
Continuing, he said UPU is not a political party, but that they are interested in what goes on in APC, PDP and other parties as regards the next governor of the state.
