Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Members of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in Delta North senatorial district have unanimously passed a vote of confidence on President Muhammadu Buhari, while urging him to seek re-election in 2019.
Rising from a meeting at the country home of Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu in Onicha-Ugbo, Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State, the party raised a committee headed by Engr. Hyacinth Enuha to search for an acceptable and credible governorship candidate of Delta north extraction ahead of the 2019 election in the state.
In a nine-point communiqué read to newsmen at the end of the meeting, the members encouraged all governorship aspirants to make their interest known to the zone ahead of time.
They said the right of a Delta northerner to complete an unbroken two-term of eight years as governor of Delta State is not negotiable, explaining that from the inception of the third republic in 1999, the south and central senatorial districts have completed unbroken two term each.
According to the communiqué, the APC members insisted that the party is solidly on ground in the zone, and that it has the capacity to oust the incumbent governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2019.
The zone however added that it will enlist the support of Delta south and central zones to produce a sellable candidate of Delta north extraction, while also describing the performance of the PDP-led state government since 1999 as woeful.
The communiqué, which was signed by Engr. Enuha, commended the national leadership of the party for the positions it took on the contentious issues of state police and restructuring, saying that it was unprecedented and unusual for a party in power, and urged the general public to see the APC stand as the way to go for national progress.
Among chieftains of the party who attended the meeting were Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, Engr. Victor Ochei and others while Prof. Pat Utomi, a governorship aspirant from the zone was absent.
Fielding questions from newsmen, Dr. Ojougboh described deliberations at the meeting as very fruitful, noting that steps were being taken to actualise the governorship project for the zone.
Ojougboh said the recent collapse of all pressure groups within the state APC was a healthy development, adding that it will further unite the party ahead of the primaries for the 2019 general elections.